SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Archaeological Objects

Richard Allan: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance she issues to the Crown Prosecution Service in respect of calculating the value of archaeological objects that form part of a prosecution under heritage legislation.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service has not issued guidance on the valuation of objects which form part of a prosecution for offences under legislation designed to protect the national heritage.
	Crown prosecutors review all cases submitted to them by the police, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Prosecutors assess whether there is sufficient available evidence on all the elements of the offence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. They will ask the police to provide further evidence where necessary, which may include expert valuation if appropriate. Where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, prosecutors will then go on to consider whether a prosecution is required in the public interest.

Bribery

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 29 March 2004, Official Report, column 1145W, on overseas bribery, how many cases of overseas bribery were referred to CPS Casework Directorate (a) between November 1997 and February 2002 and (b) since 14 February 2002.

Harriet Harman: CPS Casework Directorate does not record separately whether a corruption case received by it involves an overseas element. It is not therefore possible to provide accurate figures.
	However, in order to assist, the CPS has considered what information is available and indicates that it is likely that in the period November 1997 and February 2002, around 240 cases were referred to Casework Directorate, which involved or may have involved allegations of corruption. Similarly from February 2002 to the present, Casework Directorate has recorded a total of about 80 cases which involved, or may have involved, allegations of corruption either within England and Wales or overseas. In order to ascertain which of these cases specifically involved overseas corruption, each individual case file would need to be examined which would incur disproportionate cost and in any case may not provide a definitive answer.
	Casework Directorate is however able to say, having asked its staff, that they are currently advising the police in five cases, which involve allegations of overseas corruption. All the cases are still being investigated and no charges have yet been brought.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Energy Efficiency Commitment

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what terrawatt hour savings she estimates would accrue from the first phase of the Energy Efficiency Commitment (2002–05) if the prevailing test discount rate were to be 3.5 per cent.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 22 June 2004
	The 6 per cent. discount rate used for the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) 2002–05 was the standard rate used by Government at that time. The rate was reduced to 3.5 per cent. in January 2003 to reflect prevailing circumstances.
	Changing only the discount rate from 6 per cent. to 3.5 per cent., the fuel standardised lifetime-discounted savings from the Energy Efficiency Commitment 2002–05 would change from 62 terawatt hours (TWh) to 81 TWh.
	However, some of the assumptions underlying average energy savings from specific energy efficiency measures have also changed, in addition to the change in the discount rate, as explained in the consultation document for the next phase of the EEC. If the illustrative mix of measures under EEC 2002–05 were subjected to the same set of assumptions which are now being applied to the second phase of EEC (2005–08) the TWh figure would fall from 81 to 66. The target level proposed for EEC 2005–08 as part of the consultation process is subject to continuing analysis and will be finalised in the relevant Statutory Order following the public consultation.

Global Food Consumption

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the future growth of global consumption of food.

Alun Michael: The Department has made no assessment of the future growth of global food consumption.
	Projections of global food consumption are made by the OECD. The following table reports projections for global consumption of cereals.
	
		million tonnes
		
			  Estimated consumption, 2002–03 Projected consumption, 2008–09 
		
		
			 Wheat 588.2 653.4 
			 Coarse grains 881.8 973.8 
			 Rice 407.8 435.8 
			 All cereals 1,877.8 2,063.0 
		
	
	Source:
	OECD Agricultural Outlook 2003–04.
	Further details can be found at the following web address. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/0/2956127.pdf
	Projections up to 2013–14 for global consumption of the major food commodities are made by the Food and Policy Research Institute and can be found in its publication, FAPRI 2004 World Agricultural Outlook. http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/brfbk04/BrfBk2004.pdf

Salmon Fishing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many salmon were caught by (a) net and (b) rod in Lancashire rivers in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The following tables give the numbers of salmon caught by net and by rod in the rivers Lune, Ribble and Wyre in each of the last five years.
	
		Table 1: salmon caught in the River Lune, Lancashire
		
			  Number of salmon caught by rod Number of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Percentage of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Number of salmon caught by net 
		
		
			 1999 1,032 506 49 803 
			 2000 1,440 808 56 1,527 
			 2001 566 364 64 1,121 
			 2002 1,127 691 61 1,531 
			 2003 823 476 58 810 
		
	
	
		Table 2: salmon caught in the River Ribble, Lancashire
		
			  Number of salmon caught by rod Number of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Percentage of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Number of salmon caught by net 
		
		
			 1999 633 384 61 210 
			 2000 827 455 55 176 
			 2001 349 208 60 130 
			 2002 692 420 61 228 
			 2003 556 357 64 155 
		
	
	
		Table 3: salmon caught in the River Wyre, Lancashire
		
			  Number of salmon caught by rod Number of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Percentage of salmon caught by rod, subsequently released Number of salmon caught by net 
		
		
			 1999 5 0 0 n/a 
			 2000 5 2 40 n/a 
			 2001 11 4 36 n/a 
			 2002 15 13 87 n/a 
			 2003 3 1 33 n/a

Water Leakage

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the water leakage rates were for each water company in England in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures were available.

Elliot Morley: Water company leakage data is published annually by the Director General of Water Services in the annual 'Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water' reports, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The reported total leakage figures in 1997–98 and 2002–03 in megalitres per day were as follows:
	
		megalitres per day
		
			 Water Companies 1997–98 2002–03 
		
		
			 Anglian 240 192 
			 Bournemouth and W Hants 26.3 22 
			 Bristol 59.3 53 
			 Cambridge 14.4 14 
			 Dee Valley 12.2 11 
			 Folkestone and Dover 8.71 8 
			 Mid Kent 36.1 28 
			 Northumbrian North 184 153 
			 Northumbrian South 82.2 67 
			 Portsmouth 32 30 
			 Severn Trent 399 515 
			 South East 108 72 
			 South Staffordshire 81.8 71 
			 South West 101 84 
			 Southern 98.8 92 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 25.9 24 
			 Tendring Hundred 5.75 5 
			 Thames 906 925 
			 Three Valleys 172 152 
			 United Utilities 579 465 
			 Wessex 110 75 
			 Yorkshire 377 296

Water Resources Act

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to amend the Water Resources Act 1991 to implement Recommendation 7 in Lord Donaldson's Review, Salvage and Intervention and their Command and Control, published in 1999.

Elliot Morley: I have agreed with my hon. Friend the Minister for Shipping that officials at the Department for Transport will investigate how to implement this recommendation. Officials are currently examining the possibility of using a Regulatory Reform Order.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Postal Ballot Pilots

Colin Pickthall: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Commission has made of the all-postal voting system, following the pilots in four English regions in the June elections.

Peter Viggers: The Commission is required by section 4 of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004 to report on each of the electoral pilots within three months of the date of declaration of the result of the European Parliamentary general election in the relevant region. This period expires on 13 September in all cases. The section sets out the scope of the evaluation which the Commission is required to undertake. The Commission has made available in the Library the evaluation framework document it has developed for this purpose.

Postal Ballot Pilots

Bob Spink: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the postal ballot pilots.

Peter Viggers: The Commission is required by section 4 of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004 to report on each of the electoral pilots within three months of the date of declaration of the result of the European Parliamentary general election in the relevant region. This period expires on 13 September in all cases. The section sets out the scope of the evaluation which the Commission is required to undertake. The Commission has made available in the Library the evaluation framework document it has developed for this purpose.

Postal Ballot Pilots

David Taylor: To ask the honourable Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment (a) has been made and (b) is planned of the all-postal ballot pilot carried out in the East Midlands for the recent European and local elections.

Peter Viggers: The Commission is required by section 4 of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004 to report on each of the electoral pilots within three months of the date of declaration of the result of the European Parliamentary general election in the relevant region. This period expires on 13 September in all cases. Separate reports will be published for each region, including the East Midlands. The evaluation framework document developed by the Commission is available in the Library of the House.

Postal Ballot Pilots

Norman Baker: To ask the honourable Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what plans the Commission has to assess the integrity of the voting system, with specific reference to postal ballots.

Peter Viggers: By virtue of section 4 of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004, the Commission is required to report, within three months of the declaration of the result of the European Parliamentary general election in the region, on the all-postal pilot schemes that took place earlier this month. The Commission's report will consider issues of electoral integrity and will be published by the statutory deadline of 13 September 2004. The Commission also continues to assess the operation of postal voting on demand, and will be reviewing the impact of its draft Code of Conduct for political parties, candidates and canvassers on the handling of postal voting applications and postal ballot papers in this context.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Activity Target

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made in assessing the likelihood of achieving its activity target to get 70 per cent. of the population reasonably active by 2020.

Tessa Jowell: The Department is currently reviewing the 70 per cent. Game Plan target through the Choosing Activity consultation jointly published with the Department of Health on 6 May 2004.

Horse Racing (Scotland)

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the consequences for horse racing in Scotland of the Office of Fair Trading Report on the Modernisation of British Horse Racing.

Richard Caborn: The outcome of the OFT inquiry, taken together with the BHB's own plans for the modernisation of racing, will provide a firm basis for the sport's future success both in Scotland and the rest of the country.

Gambling

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to discourage gambling.

Richard Caborn: No. For most people gambling is a harmless leisure pursuit; and participation should be a matter of informed adult choice. But in the Gambling Bill we propose to discourage problem gambling, by strengthening safeguards for the young and vulnerable.

Licensing Act 2003

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the fee structure for licence applications under the Licensing Act 2003.

Tessa Jowell: I will release draft regulations, showing fee levels, for public consultation as soon as possible.

Licensing Act 2003

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had in the last six months on the likely impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on the level of binge drinking.

Tessa Jowell: In the last six months I and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, have had extensive discussions across Government and with the police, local authorities and the industry about the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on binge drinking. We expect the Act to help reduce levels of binge drinking currently occurring as a result of fixed closing times for on-licensed premises.

Tourism (England)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the promotion of tourism in England.

Richard Caborn: VisitBritain launched its domestic marketing strategy in November last year to grow the value of domestic tourism throughout the English regions throughout the year. Since then VisitBritain has run a number of campaigns including 'Outdoor England' and 'City Culture'. Further campaigns are planned for later this year.

Art Exports

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) museum directors, (b) the Society of London Art Dealers and (c) auction houses about the export of works of art of national importance.

Estelle Morris: The main forum for discussion about the export of works of art of national importance is the Advisory Council to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. The Advisory Council consists of representatives of all parties interested in the export control of cultural objects, including Directors of museums and representatives from the Art Trade. The Advisory Council usually meets annually, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Members are consulted on relevant policy issues and members can use the meeting to express their views and concerns. The next meeting takes place on 1 July.

Departmental Policies

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury regarding her Department's policies on (i) Stonehenge and (ii) digital broadcasting; and what the outcome was of these discussions.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has had regular discussions with Treasury colleagues about the Spending Review 2004. The outcome of these discussions will form part of the Spending Review settlement which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Departmental Policies

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) current and (b) projected level of spending by her Department is on (i) Stonehenge and (ii) digital broadcasting.

Estelle Morris: English Heritage, which is funded by DCMS grant in aid, manages Stonehenge on behalf of DCMS as part of its portfolio of properties. The level of spending on Departmental administrative costs for Stonehenge is estimated at £40,000 in 2004–05.
	DCMS will spend £220,000 on preparations for digital switchover in 2004–05.
	The total level of future spending on both these areas beyond 2004–05 depends on the outcome of the current Spending Review which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will announce in the coming weeks.

Digital Broadcasting

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many television viewers in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber she estimates are unable to receive digital broadcasts.

Estelle Morris: Ofcom do not hold data for digital coverage in individual constituencies, however digital terrestrial television is unavailable to around 18 per cent. of the Scottish population and less than 1 per cent. of the UK are unable to receive digital satellite.
	The Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber constituency is primarily served by two transmitters; one near Rosemarkie serving Nairn and most of Inverness, and Torosay transmitter on Mull, serving western coastal parts of the constituency. Both of these are transmitting digital services. Other areas are likely to be receiving signals from smaller relay stations, which have not yet been upgraded to digital.

Dorney Lake Rowing Facility

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the funding required to complete the Dorney Lake Rowing Facility to the standard required by the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron for international and Olympic events is; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Information provided by the Amateur Rowing Association in May 2004 indicates that a figure of up to £1.3 million will be required.

Dorney Lake Rowing Facility

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what arrangements have been made to ensure that the Dorney Lake Rowing Facility facilities will be completed to the standard required by the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron by May 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Dorney Lake facility has been developed by Eton College and their associated organisation, the Dorney Lake Trust. These organisations are working closely with the Amateur Rowing Association to ensure that the completed facilities will meet the required standards.

Entertainment Licences

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will use her powers under the Licensing Act 2003 to include sporting events shown on large screens in bars, public houses and other licensed premises within the definition of regulated entertainment under Schedule 1 of the Act.

Richard Caborn: We have no current plans to use the powers in the Licensing Act 2003 to license the showing of live broadcast sporting events on large screens in licensed premises. Under the 2003 Act, all public houses and bars showing live sporting events on television will require premises licences because they sell alcohol and, as a result, will be required to take steps to ensure the promotion of the licensing objectives in relation to the premises. These objectives are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. If they fail to do so, they could face a review of the licence. Furthermore, it will be an offence under the 2003 Act to allow disorderly conduct on the premises and knowingly to sell, attempt to sell, or to allow alcohol to be sold to people who are already drunk. Finally, the police have powers (in certain circumstances) under the 2003 Act to close down instantly for up to 24 hours any relevant premises where a senior officer believes there is, or is likely to be, disorder on or in the vicinity of the premises, or alternatively where a public nuisance is being caused as a result of noise emanating from the premises.

Libraries (Digitisation)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money has been spent on the digitisation of content in libraries in the constituency of Tamworth since 1997.

Estelle Morris: This information is not held centrally.
	The New Opportunities Fund £50 million Digitisation of Learning Materials Programme has delivered 150 projects across the UK to enable resources which support learning of all kinds held in libraries as well as museums, archives and other public-sector institutions, to be made available online through the People's Network and the National Grid for Learning. This initiative has created a body of material containing over two million images, tens of thousands of sound and video clips and documents and over 1,000 learning packages. All projects can be accessed via the EnrichUK portal at http://www.enrichuk.net.
	Information on grants awarded to individual local authorities and their expenditure can be obtained from the relevant authority.

Lottery (Good Causes)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been raised for charitable purposes through National Lottery funding since its establishment.

Estelle Morris: From the inception of the National Lottery to 31 May 2004, the charitable, expenditure good cause has received £2,718,682,810.93. This money has been for distribution by the Community Fund.
	This is made up of £2,469,620,150.50 in income from Lottery operations and £249,062,660.43 in investment returns accrued on balances held for distribution prior to their dispersal to project operators.

Museums Policy

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her museums policy.

Estelle Morris: My policy is to broaden the audience base through free admission to national museums and other measures, to encourage excellence and to promote the renaissance of regional museums. In relation to the keeping of art and artefacts in the United Kingdom, about which the hon. Member is particularly interested, my policy is to ensure that the systems we have in place are aimed at retaining objects of national importance within the United Kingdom.

Ormai Portrait

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what checks her Department has carried out to ensure that Sir Joshua Reynold's portrait of Ormai has not been exported.

Estelle Morris: Any attempt to export this portrait without a licence would be in breach of the law. If information or evidence came to light that such a breach had occurred, I would ask Customs and Excise (as the enforcement authority) to investigate and to take appropriate action.

Publicly Owned/Funded Collections

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives the Government has introduced to improve public access to the publicly-owned collections of museums, galleries and other civic buildings; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: In December 2001, the Government introduced free admission to the permanent collections of DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries in England that had previously charged for admission. This has seen a 72 per cent. increase in visits to those museums and galleries. In October 2002, DCMS announced that it would allocate £70 million over four years to support local authority and other regional museums through the Renaissance in the Regions programme, which aims to improve access.
	As well as overseeing the Renaissance programme, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, funded by DCMS, is delivering initiatives aimed at improving physical and virtual access, including the museum registration scheme, which sets minimum accessibility standards; good practice guides covering social inclusion, cultural diversity and access for people with disabilities; and funding for the UK's national virtual museum, the 24 Hour Museum. DCMS and DfES have jointly funded a programme of national/regional museum partnerships across England, which supports the education of school age children. The programme also helps to strengthen communities through involving them with collections and their curators. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Fund provides capital funding to enable eligible museums and galleries to improve physical access to their collections.

Publicly Owned/Funded Collections

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the (a) value and (b) number of objects held in publicly-funded collections in (i) museums, (ii) galleries and (iii) other public buildings in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: Objects held in publicly-funded collections in museums, galleries and other public buildings in the United Kingdom are a matter for the governing bodies of those institutions. I have not, therefore, made estimates of the total value and number of such objects, but the total number of objects held by the principal museums and galleries in England that are sponsored by the Department is estimated to exceed 130 million.

Royal Collection

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who audits the accuracy of the inventory of items in the Royal Collection; and what assessment she has made of whether the inventory is comprehensive.

Estelle Morris: The maintenance and care of the Royal Collection is the responsibility of the Royal Collection Trust and not the Government. I understand that Royal Collection staff carry out regular inventory checks to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the inventory. The process is reviewed regularly by the Royal Household's Internal Audit Department and their reports are reviewed by the Royal Collection Trust's external auditors.

Stonehenge

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public funding has been spent on Stonehenge in each year since 1990.

Estelle Morris: Since 1990, English Heritage has spent £36,404,000 of public funds on Stonehenge and generated an income of £42,843,000. This is broken down as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  Grant in aid Income 
		
		
			 1990–91 1,099 1,720 
			 1991–92 1,665 1,666 
			 1992–93 1,615 1,917 
			 1993–94 1,671 2,348 
			 1994–95 1,632 2,561 
			 1995–96 2,114 2,754 
			 1996–97 2,468 3,161 
			 1997–98 2,046 3,316 
			 1998–99 2,693 3,761 
			 1999–2000 2,999 4,045 
			 2000–01 5,355 3,840 
			 2001–02 3,831 3,567 
			 2002–03 3,898 3,870 
			 2003–04 3,318 4,287 
			 Total 36,404 42,843 
		
	
	The net profit of £6,439,000 has been re-invested in the wider work of English Heritage, which covers conservation, education, grants to third parties, research and the upkeep of over 400 properties in its care.

Television Advertising

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has held with Ofcom on regulation of advertisements on television.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had various discussions with Ofcom regarding the regulation of broadcast advertising—particularly in relation to current concerns about the possible impact of broadcast advertising on childhood obesity and Ofcom's proposals for the future co-regulation of broadcast advertising. DCMS officials have also had a wide variety of contacts with Ofcom to discuss these issues.

Television Advertising

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment has been made of standards in advertising on television.

Estelle Morris: The Communications Act 2003 provides for Ofcom to have general responsibility for the regulation of the content of broadcasting services, including all television advertising. It is for Ofcom to ensure that there is an appropriate standards code for the regulation of broadcast advertising and that it is targeted and proportionate.

Working Time Directive

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employees in her Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from, the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in her Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: In my Department, (a) formal opt-out forms from the Working Time Directive are held at local management level and are not readily available and (b) there is no one who is exempt from the formal opt-out agreement. Working hours including those accruing on a flexitime basis, are monitored by line managers locally and no central figures are available. The Department is committed to reducing the number of staff who are required to work in excess of 48 hours per week to an absolute minimum commensurate with meeting our operational needs.

PRIME MINISTER

Health Services (Buckinghamshire)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has responded to the consultation paper Shaping Health Services—Creating Better Healthcare for Buckinghamshire.

Tony Blair: No.

Lord Birt/Lord Levy

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to paragraph 51 of the Ministerial Code, on what dates letters of appointment were issued by him to (a) Lord Birt and (b) Lord Levy, in their capacity as unpaid advisors; and if he will place copies of those letters in the Library.

Tony Blair: Details of an individual's conditions of appointment are not made public in order to protect the privacy of the individual concerned under exemptions 8 and 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Computer Services

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee if the Parliamentary Communications Directorate will (a) provide information to hon. Members about services available and (b) update computers to permit centrally provided lap-top personal computers to be enabled to dial-up local numbers when abroad to access an internet service provider in order to use the web-based Outlook facility.

Robert Key: There are no plans to provide Members with access to a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) while they are abroad. Members can already access the Parliamentary Network while abroad using either the Citrix remote access service or a Virtual Private Network dial-up account; both of these involve making a telephone call to a UK number and Members can claim the cost of such calls from their Incidental Expenses Provision. The Parliamentary Communications Directorate (PCD) plans to make web-based access to a Members' e-mail and on-line diary available before the Houses rises for the summer recess. With this new service, access will be possible from any computer with an Internet connection, such as computers provided in conference or hotel business centres, airport departure lounges, and Internet cafes. The software used will ensure that no trace of the Member's activity is left on the computer and that it is not possible for anyone to decipher a Member's password details.
	If Members wish to use their own lap-tops with a local ISP while abroad, they will first need to make some arrangement with a local ISP in the country they are visiting. The number dialled by a lap-top computer can readily be changed to allow access to an alternative ISP and PCD can advise hon. Members how to do this. The Information Committee will look at the possibility of providing (i) a list of local ISPs for as many countries as possible, and (ii) information on subscription services that facilitate global roaming.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Communications Directorate

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to his Answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 850W, on House employees, what the duties are of the 69 full-time equivalent employees involved in communications.

Archy Kirkwood: The staff of the Parliamentary Communications Directorate are responsible for a range of House-wide IT services, and are divided into three sections. Those in the Operations and Customer Services Section are responsible for the Parliamentary Network (which has approximately 5,500 user accounts), including network infrastructure, servers and common services such as email; telephony services (7000+ extensions), including the Operator Bureau (handling an average of 3,000 calls per day), voicemail and mobile communications; Members' computing support; the PCD Helpdesk (average 300 calls per day) and customer services.
	Staff in the Planning and Programmes section provide project and programme management support; develop new IT services and technical standards, and manage business processes such as software licensing. The third section, Information Systems, manages and develops a number of key Parliamentary databases, as well as providing IT support to the Department of the Serjeant at Arms, the Office of the Clerk and others.

Communications Directorate

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to his answer of 18 May 2004, to the hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mrs. Lawrence), Official Report, column 850W, on running costs, what factors underlie the increase in costs attributed to communications between 1995 and 2003.

Archy Kirkwood: The bulk of the running costs, on average just under 90 per cent., are accounted for by expenditure on staff, so any change in staffing levels has a direct impact on the overall running costs. The change in the staffing levels of the Communications Directorate in the period 1995 to 2003 was influenced by a number of factors. These include:
	the expansion of the pilot PDVN to a full Parliament-wide network;
	the increase in the number of users and hence support they require;
	improvements to the resilience of the network and associated underlying engineering support;
	the central provision of equipment to Members;
	the creation of the helpdesk and, latterly, extension of its opening hours; and,
	more services being provided over the network for Members, Peers and Parliamentary departments and offices.

Early-day Motions

Anthony Steen: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what the cost of printing and administering early-day motions was in each of the last three parliamentary sessions.

Archy Kirkwood: House of Commons printing and publishing charges are calculated in arrears by financial year and are therefore available only in this form. Figures covering the costs of early day motions, to the nearest £1,000, and for the four financial years completed under the present contractual arrangements, are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 443,000 
			 2001–02 338,000 
			 2002–03 516,000 
			 2003–04 573,000 
		
	
	Other costs associated with administering early day motions, such as editorial preparation and control, and electronic publishing, are not separately identifiable.

Environmental Policy

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to his answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 850W, who has responsibility for delivering improved environmental practice on the Parliamentary Estate.

Archy Kirkwood: The Director of Estates is responsible for delivering improved environmental practice on the Parliamentary Estate, as recommended in a report by the consultants Urban Mines. This report will be placed in the Library in the next few days.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Active Communities Challenge

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses he estimates have allowed employees at least one day off for voluntary action in the local community as a result of the Active Communities Challenge launched by the Prime Minister in March 2000.

Fiona Mactaggart: Detailed information on the number of employers offering their employees one day off for voluntary action is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Airwave Scheme

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what he estimates the (a) cost of implementing and (b) number of masts in implementing the Airwave scheme nationwide will be.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 21 June 2004
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The Airwave service contract includes all police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. Payments for each police force start from the date when the service becomes available. When the rollout is complete, it is estimated that the total annual cost of the core national service will be £156 million.
	(b) The total number of masts will be of the order of 3,300. Over 3,000 of these masts are already in place.

Airwave Scheme

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Airwave has video technology; and whether it is utilised by police forces.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 21 June 2004
	Airwave can carry data signals as well as voice signals and can in principle transmit video pictures. No video applications have yet been developed for Airwave.

Airwave Scheme

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Airwave; and whether the scheme is on course to deliver the technology promised at its conception.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 21 June 2004
	Airwave is a successful programme that is on course to deliver the technology promised at its conception. It has already delivered modern voice communications to over 50,000 police users and provided them with high quality and secure digital communications and improved capacity and coverage. Some of the functionality will only be available when the national network has been fully rolled out and software upgrades have been implemented.

Asylum Seekers

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 760W, on asylum detainees (children), if he will break down the figures by removal centre.

Des Browne: The latest available information on the number of minors detained solely under Immigration Act powers is for 27 March 2004 and shows that 30 minors were detained at that date. A breakdown of the number detained in each removal centre is not available. Providing such a breakdown is contrary to National Statistics principles and protocols on confidentiality given the small numbers involved.
	Families with children may be detained at Tinsley House, Dungavel and Oakington Reception Centre.

Asylum Seekers

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for the recent change in the proportion of asylum seekers who claim asylum in this country.

Des Browne: A number of measures have been introduced recently to tackle the abuse of our asylum and immigration system while maintaining the protection given to genuine refugees. For example, we have introduced measures to ensure the integrity of our borders, tackle fraud, people trafficking and illegal working, restrict support for late applicants, and to remove in-country appeal rights for those making clearly unfounded claims. The Government consider that this package of measures has resulted in the fall in asylum intake since the peak of October 2002.

Asylum Seekers

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of asylum seekers who were denied access to asylum support under section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in the first quarter of 2004.

Des Browne: Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 came into force on 8 January 2003, restricting the availability of National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support to those asylum seekers who make an asylum application as soon as reasonably practicable. From 17 December 2003 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that those who could give a credible account that their asylum claim was made within three days of arrival in the United Kingdom will normally be accepted as having applied as soon as reasonably practicable.
	The eligibility for support under section 55 was considered by NASS for a total of 2,650 cases in the first quarter of 2004 (January to March 2004). The number of asylum seekers, excluding dependants, notified that they were ineligible for NASS support under section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in the first quarter of 2004 was 890. Some applicants notified that they are ineligible for support under section 55 apply nevertheless and these are shown in the published statistics within the 'Invalid' support type category.
	Information on the number of asylum seekers supported by NASS is published in the quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin, "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom", available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Bristol Airport (Policing)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budgeted cost to be borne by Avon and Somerset Constabulary for policing Bristol Airport in 2004–05 is; and what the direct contribution to be made by the Home Office as security expenditure is.

David Blunkett: holding answer 18 June 2004
	Avon and Somerset Police receives additional funding from a number of different funding streams for the purposes of policing at Bristol Airport. For security reasons it would not be appropriate to comment on specific levels of funding.

Cannabis

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to conduct further research into the link between cannabis smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology, part of the Department of Trade and Industry.
	The MRC does not normally commission research, but always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to health.
	The MRC funds research into a wide range of diseases related to smoking. These include cancer, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular and circulatory disorders. The Council is not currently funding research on cannabis smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed in the Department to work in the communications field, and what the total expenditure on communications for the Department was, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisors and (iii) others, in (A) 1994–95, (B) 1996–97, (C) 1997–98 and (D) 2001–02.

Fiona Mactaggart: The requested information on Government Information and Communication Service staff including Press Officers and other staff, and the total expenditure for those employed to work in the Communication and Research, Development and Statistics Directorates is as set out in the following tables:
	
		Communication Service staff, press officers and other staff
		
			 Communication Directorate (CD) RDSD CD and RDSD 
			 Financial year GICS (inc. press officers) Press officers included in GICS total Other CD total RDSD total Total staff 
		
		
			 1994–95 24 15 8 32 7 39 
			 1996–97(1) 30 16 70 100 8 108 
			 1997–98 23 13 65 88 9 97 
			 2001–02 53 (3)35 100 (2)153 7 160 
		
	
	(1) Library and Internal Communications merged with the former Public Relations Branch to form the Communication Directorate.
	(2) Direct Communications Unit, which includes the Customer Correspondence Service was formed during 2001–02.
	(3) Expansion of the Home Office press office towards the end of 2000, followed an external consultant's review of its staffing and operation and recommended the creation of the Newsdesk so as to better meet the demands of the media. This improved efficiency from 'losing' in excess of 20 per cent. of the calls pre expansion, to a position where from June 2003 to June 2004, 91.8 per cent. of the 67,070 press calls received by the Newsdesk were answered. Added to which the Prison Service and Home Office press offices merged in May 2001
	
		Total expenditure -- £
		
			 Financial year GICS (inc. press officers) Press officers (included in GICS total) Other CT total RDSD total Total cost 
		
		
			 1997–95 508,800 318,000 169,600 678,400 980,000 1,658,400 
			 1996–97 859,014 369,000 1,343,220 2,202,234 755,000 2,957,234 
			 1997–98 929,568 332,000 1,726,340 2,655,908 668,000 3,323,908 
			 2001–02 3,028,899 1,000,000 3,555,665 6,584,564 553,000 7,137,564 
		
	
	Details of expenditure on communications staff beyond these two directorates is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
	With regard to special advisers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 529W. Details of special advisers are published annually for the Government as a whole.

Departmental IT Equipment

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has received about (a) attempts to sell former Home Office servers on E-bay and (b) police investigations into these attempts.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office Information Technology Services supplier (Fujitsu) informed the Home Office on 6 May 2004 that equipment owned by them, but previously located on Home Office premises, had been stolen and subsequently assembled into two servers which were sold by an employee of the company. Police investigations were instituted. The equipment has been recovered. The incident continues to be the subject of police inquiries.
	We do not believe that Home Office information has been compromised in any way but the equipment recovered is being tested to confirm this.

Empty Houses

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many empty houses his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 18 June 2004
	As at 16 June 2004, the Prison Service had seven empty homes out of a total of 497. These are located in Worcestershire, Kent and London.
	All homes, whether empty or occupied are under constant review. Generally homes which become vacant are not re-let, but sold on the open market. Consideration is being given to the reproduction and extension of a scheme under which eligible occupiers are able to buy their homes. However, due to recruitment and retention problems in London and the South East, accommodation in these areas is being retained and in some cases converted for multiple occupation. These properties are re-let on a short-term basis, which will not normally exceed multiples of six months.

Forcible Removals

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been removed from the UK as a result of enforcement action in each year since 1979, broken down by nationality.

Des Browne: holding answer 8 June 2004
	Information on the number of people removed from the UK as a result of enforcement action in each year from 1979 to 2002 (the latest year for which figures are available) is shown in the table. Information on the nationalities of those removed is not available.
	
		Persons removed from the United Kingdom as a result of enforcement action1,2,3
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1979 1,416 
			 1980 1,938 
			 1981 1,601 
			 1982 1,496 
			 1983 1,372 
			 1984 1,559 
			 1985 1,741 
			 1986 1,960 
			 1987 2,660 
			 1988 3,700 
			 1989 4,540 
			 1990 4,280 
			 1991 5,800 
			 1992 6,210 
			 1993 6,080 
			 1994 5,210 
			 1995 5,080 
			 1996 5,460 
			 1997 6,610 
			 1998 7,315 
			 1999(7) 6,440 
			 2000(7) 7,820 
			 2001(7) 10,290 
			 20024,5 14,205 
		
	
	(4) Under sections 3(5), 3(6) and 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971,or under section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
	(5) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
	(6) Excludes dependants of asylum seekers.
	(7) Excludes people departing under the Assisted Voluntary Return programmes run by the international organisation for migration.
	(8) Provisional figures.
	The number of people removed from the UK in 2003 as a result of enforcement action is due to be published in August in the Home Office statistical bulletin, "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2003", on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice. gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Guantanamo Bay

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates representatives of his Department visited British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay; whether he has received adverse reports on the welfare of detainees or allegations of ill-treatment; what representations he made on behalf of the prisoners; and what action he took to make his concerns known to relatives or legal representatives of those detained.

David Blunkett: No officials from the Home Office have visited the British nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 8 June 2004 in reply to his question no 177590.

Illegal Workers

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal workers have been reported through the Working in the UK website; and what action was taken as a result.

Des Browne: The Working in the UK website advises a person who wishes to report an illegal worker to write to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) in Croydon with full details. Such letters are then logged and forwarded to the appropriate Immigration Service enforcement office where the information will be investigated. No distinction is made between letters prompted by the Working in the UK website and other allegations received in writing by the IND. As a large number of these communications are anonymous and contain only details of the illegal worker it is not possible to provide an accurate figure for how many came as a result of the website.
	Allegations are assessed by Immigration Service intelligence officers and considered for an operational enforcement response. Factors that are considered will be the reliability and currency of the information, the number of suspected offenders, available resources and local priorities. All allegations are considered on their individual merits.

Illegal Workers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all employers will need biometric readers to establish whether a potential employee is attempting to work illegally.

Des Browne: The draft Identity Cards Bill imposes no regulations to require employers to undertake any specific checks on identity cards, or perform any checks over and above those imposed under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. The Government will not consider laying new orders under this Act to take account of the identity cards scheme until closer to the date of implementation of the scheme.
	Identity cards would provide one document with which employers are familiar. Therefore the checks would be simpler and less time-consuming.
	Employers will need to weigh up the costs, risks and benefits of changing current practices to incorporate the use of identity cards, according to their circumstances.
	The Government will continue its discussions with employers' organisations and trade unions to ensure that employers' needs are taken into account during the design of the scheme.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the travel costs incurred (a) by his Department and (b) by each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Travel costs for the core Home Office have only been held centrally since 1996 totals as follows:
	
		
			  Total (£) 
		
		
			 1996 5,188,941.79 
			 1997 5,122,697.13 
			 1998 4,157,597.49 
			 1999 4,628,434.97 
			 2000 5,642,473.06 
			 2001 8,425,728.71 
			 2002 11,088,054.84 
			 2003 16,856,024.14 
		
	
	The marked increases in travel costs since 2001 can be largely attributed to changes in strategy within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate where increased staff numbers and the need to travel as a result of new policy initiatives and targets for improved IND performance. Other contributing factors have been related to providing advice to the organisers of the 2002 Football World Cup in Japan and Euro 2004 in Portugal and the creation of new units to support the police reform agenda.
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course.
	Detailed information for all Ministers in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the business case for the establishment of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The case for the establishment of the National Offender Management Service was outlined in Patrick Carter's independent report 'Managing Offenders- Reducing Crime' published along with the Government response 'Reducing Crime-Changing Lives' on 6 January 2004.

National Offender Management Service

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Offender Management Service implementation teams will present him with an outline of how they believe the new service will (a) be structured and (b) operate.

Paul Goggins: A proposed structure for the National Offender Management Service and details on proposals for its operation were published on 17 May 2004. We are currently consulting with staff, unions and other stakeholders on these proposals. These are contained in the document entitled "National Offender Management Service Organisational Design a Consultation Document" which is available from the Library.

Overturned Convictions

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were convicted by a criminal court in (a) 1985, (b) 1990, (c) 1995 and (d) 2000; and how many and what percentage of convictions were subsequently overturned.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of offenders found guilty at all courts and the numbers of appeals against conviction or sentence is provided in the table. For those appeals allowed at the Crown court, it is not possible from the data held by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) to separate appeals against conviction from appeals against sentence. The table shows figures for 1986, as figures on appeals are not available for 1985.
	
		Number of persons found guilty at all courts, the number of appeals allowed at the Crown court and Court of Appeal and the percentage of convictions where appeal against conviction or sentence was allowed, England and Wales 1986, 1990, 1995 and 2000
		
			  1986 1990 1995 2000 
		
		
			 Offenders found guilty(9) 1,894,209 1,514,605 1,354,584 (10)1,423,702 
			 Number of appeals allowed at the Crown court against conviction or sentence(11) 3,718 4,693 8,064 3,090 
			 Number of appeals allowed at the Court of Appeal against conviction(11) — 256 253 150 
			 Proportion of convictions where appeal against conviction or sentence was allowed(12)(%) — 0.3 0.6 0.2 
		
	
	(9) These figures are on the principal offence basis and come from the Home Office Court Proceeding database.
	(10) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis.
	(11) Data provided by DCA.
	(12) Based on the proportion of offenders found guilty where the appeal against conviction or sentence was allowed.

Paedophilia

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women have been convicted on charges related to paedophilia in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 March 2004
	There is no definitive list of offences relating to paedophilia. The available information, relating to males and females found guilty at all courts for sexual offences against children in England and Wales for the years 1993 to 2002 is shown in the table. The information relates only to those offences where the age of the victim is defined by the legislation. There will be other sexual offences that may have involved children.
	Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the Autumn.
	
		Number of persons found guilty at all courts of sexual offences etc. against young people where the age of victim is identified by the offence, 1993 to 2002 1 -- England and Wales
		
			 Offence Sex 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Total for England M 2,212 2,380 2,614 2,895 2,988 2,932 2,924 2,746 2,724 3,038 
			 and Wales F 29 21 22 21 23 26 38 28 26 34 
			  T 2,241 2,401 2,636 2,916 3,011 2,958 2,962 2,774 2,750 3,072 
		
	
	(13) These data are on the principal offence basis.

Passports

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of passports in circulation which are (a) forged and (b) modified in order to serve as false identification.

Des Browne: Given the nature of the problem it is difficult to estimate with any degree of accuracy how many false passports (or other travel documents in lieu of passports) of British or foreign origin are in circulation either in the UK or globally. The fraudulent use of travel documentation (including forged or counterfeit visas) is a serious global problem. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) has the lead role in monitoring and combating this. The NDFU is recognised both at home and abroad as a leader in this field and works closely with its counterparts in other countries to counter this type of fraud.
	The NDFU has a comprehensive brief of conducting expert forensic level examinations of suspect documents, in delivering training programmes for the Immigration Service and other agencies in document fraud detection and in collation and dissemination of information about suspect documents and types of document abuse. Of the 7,985 abused travel documents of all nationalities detected at UK arrival controls in 2003, forged or altered documents represented 52 per cent. of the total. Completely counterfeit documents amounted to 15 per cent. whereas 27 per cent. of the total were in the hands of impostors. 724 abused documents were encountered in-country by immigration enforcement officers and a further 837 forged, counterfeit or fraudulently obtained documents were submitted to the Home Office with requests for leave to remain.
	The problem of identity fraud within the United Kingdom involving documents from all countries is one which affects not just the Home Office. For example, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency referred 1,071 suspect travel documents to the NDFU during 2003 of which 74 per cent. were found to be false or to contain false endorsements. Local offices of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) referred 1,410 documents to that department's National Identity Fraud Unit of which 541 were found to be false. DWP referred 114 documents to the National Document Fraud Unit for an expert opinion. During the year 33,551 passengers were denied boarding by airlines (often after reference to members of the UK Airline Liaison Officer network). Many of these decisions were because the passengers held suspect documentation.
	The NDFU makes a significant contribution to work being carried out internationally in the EU, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and G8 to disrupt the work of forgers by enhancement of international security safeguards and standards, including those for biometrics, for travel documents and their issuing processes. It also works closely with travel document issuing agencies in order to combat identity fraud and facilitate the operation of border controls.

Prisoner Escapes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The escape data sought is set out in the following tables. A prisoner is regarded as having escaped if he or she unlawfully gains his or her liberty by breaching the secure perimeter of a closed prison or when he or she is able to pass beyond the control of escorting prison staff. The data does not include instances where prisoners were recaptured within 15 minutes and no further offence was committed.
	
		Privately operated prisons
		
			  Number of escapes from prisons Number of escapes from prison staff escort Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 3 3 6 
			 2002–03 Nil Nil Nil 
			 2003–04 Nil 1 1 
		
	
	
		Public prisons
		
			  Number of escapes from prisons Number of escapes from prison staff escort Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 12 8 20 
			 2002–03 5 12 17 
			 2003–04 10 5 15

Prisoners (Slopping Out)

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any prisoners in England and Wales are having to adopt the practice of slopping out.

Paul Goggins: This practice is not in place anywhere except when there are electronic system failures, or where staff operating manual night unlocking are called upon to respond to unforeseen incidents.

Prisons (Assaults on Prisoners)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been assaulted in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The data collected by the Prison Service is an overall total for assaults within each prison, it does not breakdown assaults on individual prisoners or staff. Our current Key Performance Indicator for Serious Assaults, which offers a better indication of prisoner violence, has been given. However, this does not identify cases of multiple or repeat assault on individual prisoners.
	
		Contracted prisons (privately operated)
		
			  Total number of assaults Number of serious assaults on prisoners Rate of serious assaults as a proportion of the prison population (percentage) 
		
		
			 2001–02 1,434 48 0.8 
			 2002–03 1,544 55 0.8 
			 2003–04 1,501 90 1.3 
		
	
	
		Public Prisons
		
			  Total number of assaults Number of serious assaults on prisoners Rate of serious assaults as a proportion of the prison population (percentage) 
		
		
			 2001–02 9,123 458 0.7 
			 2002–03 9,847 580 0.9 
			 2003–04 10,038 717 1.1 
		
	
	Population pressures and the increase in the number of violent offenders have an impact on the levels of violence in prison.
	Although serious assaults were adopted as a new Key Performance Indicator for 2003–04, the data was collected in previous years as additional information. The data given relating to the two previous years is thus consistent.
	Reducing violence, in all its forms, is fundamental to the Prison Service objectives and to the resettlement and rehabilitation agenda. In May 2004, the Prison Service's Violence Reduction Strategy was launched. It is now mandatory for public prisons to develop, implement (by November 2004) and maintain a local violence reduction strategy, which will aim to promote a safe and healthy prison environment and foster a culture of non-violence.
	While not applying directly to contracted prisons, the Violence Reduction Strategy is used as a basis of best practice which has enabled them to develop their own strategies to reduce serious assaults. Compliance with Health and Safety legislation is a requirement.

Probation Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government will ensure that there is no fall in standards as a result of the privatisation of probation services.

Paul Goggins: The Government has not proposed the privatisation of the Probation Service. What we have proposed is the introduction of contestability across correctional services which is key to extending and enhancing services to offenders in order to obtain the best value for money for tax payers. We want the most effective custodial and community sentences possible, no matter who delivers them. Contestability will encourage innovation, improve choice and ensure that the standards set by the probation service are built upon under the new service.

Probation Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultative process has taken place with regard to the privatisation of probation services.

Paul Goggins: The Government has not proposed the privatisation of the Probation Service. What we have proposed is the introduction of contestability across correctional services which is key to extending and enhancing services to offenders in order to obtain the best value for money for tax payers. We want the most effective custodial and community sentences possible no matter who delivers them.
	We are currently engaging in an ongoing consultation with staff, unions and other key stakeholders on the implementation and structure of the National Offender Management Service. The proposed structure on which we are consulting is outlined in the document 'National Offender Management Service-Organisational Design'. Copies of which are available from the House Library.

Psychological Coercive Techniques

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether chartered psychologists (a) have assisted in the past and (b) are assisting (i) the security services, (ii) the police and (iii) his Department's officials in the use or development of psychological coercive techniques;
	(2)  to what extent (a) the UK security services, (b) the police and (c) his Department's officials (i) have used and (ii) currently use psychological coercive techniques during their training.

David Blunkett: No use is made of such techniques.

Seaports/Airports

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) seaports and (b) airports have a dedicated Special Branch presence.

David Blunkett: The effective policing of sea and airports is the responsibility of the relevant Chief Constable. Airport security was the subject of a comprehensive review by Sir John Wheeler in 2002. Implementation of his findings is strengthening security across the board. Following his recommendation, the National Co-ordinator for Ports Policing (NCPP) has taken on a wider role to encompass the co-ordination of both uniform and Special Branch ports policing.
	The NCPP provides a strategic overview of the requirements of port security and ensures that there is effective co-operation between forces. This covers the whole range of ports policing from major air and sea ports to a small ports policing strategy.
	The NCPP also provides advice to forces on the deployment of officers at ports but it would not be appropriate to publish this information.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to facilitate the processing of seasonal agricultural workers scheme visas from (a) Romania, (b) Bulgaria and (c) Moldova for May and June.

Des Browne: holding answer 28 April 2004
	On 30 March 2004we suspended the processing of visa applications at the embassies in Bulgaria and Romania for managed migration entry routes, including the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme (SAWS). On 19 May 2004 I announced that this suspension was being lifted for most entry routes, including SAWS, and the processing of visa applications for those wishing to enter the UK under the SAWS is now taking place as normal.
	The suspension of visa processing did not impact on Moldovans directly except that they were unable to apply for visas in Sofia and Bucharest to enter the UK under the SAWS. In the absence of a British visa post in Moldova to which they could apply they had the option to apply for a visa in either Kiev or Budapest.

Secondments to the Home Office and Agencies

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department and its agencies were seconded from the (a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Secondments are part of the Interchange initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations—public, private and voluntary. Interchange provides opportunities for civil servants to learn new skills, widen their experience and develop ideas. It also brings in skills and experiences from other sectors.
	Secondments of less than three months' duration are not recorded. Statistics for the financial year 2003–04 are not yet available. The table shows the number of staff brought in to the Home Office from the private and academic sectors during the last three years for which statistics are available.
	
		
			 Financial Year Private Sector Academic Sector 
		
		
			 2000–01 2 0 
			 2001–02 2 2 
			 2002–03 2 2

Sickness Absence

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were lost in his Department through sickness absence in each of the three latest years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures from the centrally managed Home Office and the agencies, Forensic Science Service, United Kingdom Passport Service and Public Sector Prison Service Agency are in the following table:
	
		Home Department—Sickness analysis for three latest years
		
			  Workdays lost to sickness 
			  2002 2003 2004 Notes 
		
		
			 1. Centrally managed Home OfficeReports run for previous 12 months from November 2002, June 2003 and April 2004 
			 i. IND 127,440 117,270 124,589  
			 ii. non-IND 32,917 31,946 31,043  
			  
			 2. UK Passport Service 34,415 32,806 13,591 Reports in 2002 and 2003 are based on full calendar years; 2004 is based on five months 
			 3. Forensic Science Service 10,093 23,190 9,087 Reports in 2002 and 2004 are based on five months; 2003 is based on full calendar year 
			  
			 4. Public Sector Prisons 614,150 668,337 628,623 Reports based on financial years, using 225 working days and the average staff in post for year

Somalia

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether individuals removed from the UK with the intention of returning them to Somalia (a) have reached Somalia and (b) are being held in transit in (i) Dubai and (ii) elsewhere.

Des Browne: Estimates of the number of Somali nationals who had sought asylum at some stage and were removed from the UK between January 2001 and March 2004 are shown in the table. These figures include persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
	Information on the destination of these removals is not available except by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
	There are no individuals currently being held in transit in Dubai or elsewhere.
	
		Removals and voluntary departures1of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, nationals of Somalia, January 2001 1 to March 2004 2
		
			  
		
		
			 2001(E) 25 
			 2002(P)(E) 50 
			 2003 (P)(E) 50 
			 January to March (P) 40 
		
	
	(14) Includes persons departing voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	(15) Figures rounded to the nearest five.
	(E) Data have been estimated.
	(P) Provisional figures.

Substance Misuse

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners received (a) methadone, (b) subutex and (c) naltraxone for substance misuse in the last month for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 24 June 2004
	The Prison Service does not routinely collect this information. It estimates that naltrexone, an abstinence-based treatment, is currently available in around fifty establishments for men and one for women. Methadone maintenance is available in the majority of establishments for women but is not yet widely used in men's prisons.
	Subutex (buprenorphine) is included in the treatment protocols developed in conjunction with the National Health Service at eight establishments for men. Every establishment for women has the capacity to prescribe subutex but few do so at present because methadone is considered to meet most prisoners' needs. Subutex would, however, be made available to any woman already being prescribed it when received into custody.

Terrorism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to tackle the problem of terrorism.

David Blunkett: The UK has some of the most developed and sophisticated anti-terrorism legislation in the world. The Terrorism Act 2000 re-enacted and made permanent powers which had developed over many years to deal with these threats and also established a framework to deal with international terrorism. Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act has toughened counter-terrorism legislation by giving the police more powers to support their work in the fight against terrorism, proscribed new terrorist organisations and frozen their assets. We have strengthened our immigration provisions to ensure that those who present a security risk cannot hide behind refugee protections and we have tightened port, airport and border security.
	As I outlined in my statement of 25 February 2004, Official Report, column 41WS, we have also reassessed and strengthened our contingency plans to ensure that the UK is in the best position to respond, react and recover from any single or multiple terrorist incident, including incidents involving the use of chemical, biological or radiological materials. Our new Civil Contingencies Bill will further improve the UK's ability to deal with the consequences of a major disruptive incident by setting out clear responsibilities to ensure that front line responders can deal with a range of emergencies.
	We have also substantially increased funding to the Security Service to boost their capacity to collect, analyse and act on information and intelligence. The number of Security Service staff will increase by 50 per cent. over the next few years and an additional £15 million has been allocated to police special branches in order to increase their surveillance and intelligence gathering capabilities.

UK Citizens (Marriage)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK citizens married a foreigner where the couple settled in the UK in each year since 1994.

Des Browne: The latest available published statistics relating to the number of grants of settlement on the basis of marriage to a British citizen or other person already settled in the UK are given in the table. The data do not include EEA nationals or spouses of EEA nationals who are exercising family member status.
	
		Table 1: Grants of settlement on the basis of marriage, excluding EEA nationals, 1994–2002—United Kingdom -- Number of persons
		
			  Category of grant 
			  Husbands(17) Wives(17) 
		
		
			 1994(16) 11,670 14,920 
			 1995(16) 12,230 17,010 
			 1996(16) 11,900 17,570 
			 1997(16) 10,700 16,160 
			 1998(16) 13,010 18,390 
			 1999 14,565 19,945 
			 2000 14,460 24,100 
			 2001 16,850 26,590 
			 2002 15,470 24,930 
		
	
	(16) Includes a small number of EEA nationals.
	(17) Data from 1997 include unmarried partners.
	The latest published data on settlement in the United Kingdom are published in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2002" (Cm6053), available from the Library and from the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hobpubs1.html. The 2003 edition is due to be published later this year.

TREASURY

Correspondence

Keith Bradley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 18 February, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, on behalf of his constituent Ms Dawn Thomas.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credit Office called Mr. Bradley's offices around 20 April 2004 in response to his letter; they wrote to Mr. Bradley on 24 June 2004.

Gershon Review

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will implement the findings of the Gershon Review in full;
	(2)  when the Gershon Review will be published in full.

Paul Boateng: Budget 2004 announced that John Oughton, Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce, will be responsible for overall implementation of agreed efficiency programmes. Further announcements on the outcome of Sir Peter Gershon's Efficiency Review will be made at the Spending Review.

Research and Development (Tax Incentives)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Treasury allocated to the marketing of (a) research and development tax credits and (b) research and development tax allowances for each year between 2000 and 2003; and what the allocation is for 2004 to 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue is responsible for the operation of the research and development tax credit and research and development allowance.
	Generally, spending by the Inland Revenue on marketing these reliefs is met out of the Revenue's general running costs and thus is not separately identifiable. However in 2002–3 there was a marketing campaign for the research and development tax credit scheme. The costs of this campaign are separately identifiable and totalled £338,900, including agency fees and VAT.

STEPS Agreement

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 June 2004, Official Report, column 835W, to the hon. Member for Llanelli (Denzil Davies), on the STEPS Agreement, if he will set out the sources of the external commercial, legal and financial advice; and what the estimated total payments were over the life of the contract to Mapeley STEPS.

Dawn Primarolo: The sources of the external commercial, legal and financial advice given in the answer of 15 June 2004, Official Report, column 835W, to the hon. Member for Llanelli (Denzil Davies), on the STEPS Agreement, are:
	GVA Grimley
	Rogers Chapman
	Beachcroft Wansboroughs
	Bude Nathan Iwanier Solicitors
	Burness Solicitors
	Deloitte and Touche
	Dodds Brown Commercial
	Donaldsons
	Drivers Jonas
	DTZ Debenham Te Leung
	Evolve
	Government Actuaries Department
	Hewitt Bacon and Woodrow Ltd.
	Hobson Audley Hopkins and Wood
	Howard Jenkins Property Consultancy
	Howell Brooks Chartered Surveyors
	Kenmore South Ltd.
	Lambert Smith Hampton
	Land Securities Plc
	Lovells
	Matrix Data Ltd.
	Ernst and Young
	Partnerships UK Plc
	Pinsent Curtis Biddle
	Unex Investment Trust
	Wragge and Co.
	ACAS London Eastern and Southern
	BWA Facilities Consultancy
	Building Research Establishment
	Clifford Chance
	David Parrat Associates
	Gerald Eve
	Insignia Richard Ellis
	McGregor Donald
	NM Rothschild and Sons
	TME Torpy
	Tughan and Co. Solicitors
	Xansa UK Ltd.
	Cripps Harries Hall
	Ramsdens Chartered Surveyors
	Weatherall Green and Smith
	Faithful and Gould
	The Departments make payments to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. in return for operating the estate and taking responsibility for rental and other costs. The Departments pay Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. an annual average charge of £170 million for serviced accommodation, equating to some £1,500 million over the life of the contract. In addition, the Departments reimburse Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. for other pass through costs such as for utilities and works carried out on behalf of the Departments.

UK Foreign Direct Investment

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of (a) outward and (b) inward UK foreign direct investment was in each year since 1996.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. James Arbuthnot, dated 28 June 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the level of outward and inward UK Foreign Direct Investment in each year since 1996. (180634)
	The results of the annual surveys into Foreign Direct Investment are published in the Business Monitor MA4 "Foreign Direct Investment", which is available on the National Statistics website. The latest information available is for the year 2002.
	The figures for the period 1996–2002 are shown in the table below. These are taken from Table 1.2 of the above publication, which provides more detail on the components of the investment positions.
	
		Total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) international investment positions UK, 1996–2002 -- £ million
		
			 Year Outward—Total UK FDI international investment position abroad 1 Inward—Total foreign FDI international investment position in the UK 1 
		
		
			 1996 194,601 134,654 
			 1997 218,162 152,956 
			 1998 293,581 202,817 
			 1999 424,660 238,274 
			 2000 601,692 293,949 
			 2001 599,628 349,342 
			 2002 571,687 352,562 
		
	
	(18) Position at end of each year shown
	Source:
	ONS Business Monitor MA4: Foreign Direct Investment 2002

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much (a) monetary aid and (b) aid in kind has been pledged unilaterally and through the EU by (i) the UK Government and (ii) the Governments of each of the other EU members to aid in the preparations for elections in Afghanistan; through what agencies delivery has been planned; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much (a) monetary aid and (b) aid in kind has been delivered by (i) the EU and (ii) the UK Government to the interim administration of Afghanistan for the preparations of elections; what the projected schedule for transfer of funds is in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: EU member countries have pledged/contributed monetary aid towards the electoral process in Afghanistan. Donors have channelled their resources through the United Nations (UN), to assist the Afghanistan Transitional Administration with the planning and implementation of elections.
	The latest update from the UN, on pledges made by EU member countries to support the Afghan election process, is as follows:
	
		$
		
			  Donor Voter registration contribution Electoral pledges/contributions 
		
		
			 UK 18,911,347 5,000,000 
			 Germany 2,162,454 5,880,000 
			 Italy 6,242,197 6,000,000 
			 Denmark 2,354,559 1,515,000 
			 Norway 2,219,271 746,000 
			 Sweden 1,298,701 1,300,000 
			 Netherlands — 2,400,000 
			 Finland 1,248,439 1,200,000 
			 Belgium 1,243,781 — 
			 Ireland — 960,000 
			 EC 11,799,884 10,800,000 
		
	
	DFID is working closely with partner countries, to ensure that all necessary funding is in place to allow the election to take place in September.

Afghanistan

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on assistance and support to Afghanistan in preparation for the September elections.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK was one of the first countries to offer support to the current electoral process in Afghanistan and contributed £10.4 million last financial year to help fund voter registration. £500,000 was also targeted at a civic education project, to enhance public understanding of the election process and encourage greater participation.
	This year DFID has already contributed $5 million towards the cost of elections, and expect to make a similar size contribution in the near future. DFID is working closely with partner countries to ensure that all necessary funding is in place to allow the elections to take place in September.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of internally displaced people in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) of 24 June 2004, Official Report, column 1483–84W.

GM Food

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  whether his Department provides funding to GM-related initiatives under the auspices of the (a) World Food Programme and (b) UN Food and Agriculture Organisation;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on genetically modified food aid for developing countries;
	(3)  from which African Governments he has received representations (a) supporting and (b) opposing (i) GM food aid, (ii) genetically modified organisms and (iii) GM crops;
	(4)  what representations he has received in the past year (a) supporting and (b) opposing the use of GM technology as a means of helping to meet UN Millennium Development Goal number 1 Target 2, to halve between 1990 and 2015 the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, broken down by type of representation;
	(5)  which African Governments receiving UK development aid have signed the Biosafety Protocol;
	(6)  what representations he has received from (a) the Zambian Government, (b) non-governmental organisations operating in Zambia, (c) private corporations, (d) the World Food Programme, (e) the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and (f) other stakeholders concerning (i) GM food aid and (ii) GM crops for developing countries in the past three years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: As the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, I regularly receive representations about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and developing countries. Some representations, in the form of letters from the public, letters from non-government organisations or letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of constituents, discuss the role of GMOs in eliminating world hunger. GM technology will not in itself solve the problem of world hunger. But when managed responsibly, used safely and effectively, and applied to the crops important for poor people, it can be used to promote development and reduce poverty.
	The UK Government supports the implementation of international legislation to rigorously assess and manage the risks involved in the use of GMOs and GM technology. The Department for International Development (DFID) has worked with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and other Government Departments to achieve a successful conclusion to negotiations to the Biosafety Protocol. This will help both developed and developing countries make informed decisions on the transboundary movement (including import and export) of GMOs. With its strong precautionary approach, the Protocol will help to ensure that developing countries are not disadvantaged by the development of GM technologies. 23 African Governments receiving UK development aid have signed the Protocol. The top three African bilateral aid recipients in 2002–03 were Uganda (£55 million), Malawi (£52 million) and Kenya (£45 million). These countries signed the Protocol in May 2000.
	DFID's approach to food aid is guided by the following principles:
	Recipient Governments should be given adequate information on the type of food they receive and its characteristics, including whether genetically modified;
	Recipient Governments should be allowed to decide on its acceptability; and
	Donors should accept the decisions of recipients and accommodate them as far as possible. For example, if milled cereals are preferred to whole grain (to avoid the risk of GM grain being used as seed), then this should be arranged for.
	The issue of GM technology arises regularly in discussions on food, agriculture and trade in Africa, to which DFID is party. Some Governments, such as Zambia and Angola, are opposed to GMOs. Others, such as South Africa and Uganda, have approved GM crops for planting and consumption. The New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) and Africa Union have both issued statements supporting the use of GM technology to promote agriculture and reduce hunger.
	In 2002, DFID's offices in Malawi and Zambia were involved in discussions with the World Food Programme and the respective Governments about the acceptance of food aid containing genetically modified material. In Malawi, the Government proposed that GM maize be milled before distribution. DFID and other donors discussed how to do this with minimum delay in distribution. In Zimbabwe DFID officials supported the World Food Programme in negotiations with the Government over the acceptance of such food aid but had no direct contact with the Government. The former Secretary of State for International Development, Clare Short, spoke and wrote to President Mwanawasa of Zambia on this issue, and DFID hosted a fact finding visit for Zambian scientists to the UK on 23 and 24 September 2002 to meet representatives from Government, the private sector and civil society. The Zambian scientists recommended to the Zambian Government that it should reject GM food aid and the planting of GM crops in Zambia.
	In Zambia, DFID has had representations from a number of non-government organisations operating there. They have expressed a range of views about (i) GM food aid, and (ii) the wider issue of GM crops. The main organisations were the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), CARE and CAFOD. JCTR published a report on (ii). The remaining representations were informal and concerned humanitarian supplies, but did not take a public position on either (i) or (ii) in Zambia. All representations upheld the key principle that Governments and their people should be supported to make informed decisions on both issues. This principle continues to inform the approach of DFID. The UK Government has received no representations on GM food aid or GM crops from the World Food Programme (WFP) nor the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
	The World Food Programme does not conduct GM-related initiatives. The World Food Programme does, however, receive significant in-kind contributions of food aid containing GM materials. It maintains a neutral position on the matter of GM food donations, and strictly respects the decision of potential recipient Governments whether or not to receive food that may contain GM materials. It is not possible to obtain precise data on the extent to which in-kind donations to the World Food Programme are GM. In part this is because testing for GM content is not called for under any existing Codex Alimentarius or other international agreement, nor is there any agreement on the GM content below which a shipment may be classified as GM-free. UK cash contributions to the World Food Programme operations have inevitably supported the delivery of GM foods to willing recipient Governments, but it is not possible to identify to what extent.
	The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) uses the resources made available through its Regular Budget, which include the financial contribution from the UK and the rich technical expertise and experience of UK nationals in scientific and technical advancements and related institutional and policy issues, to promote sustainable agriculture for eliminating hunger and poverty. In relation to GMOs, its initiatives are directed at collecting, analysing and disseminating information. Examples include the ecological and human health effects of GM crops and GM food; providing a neutral forum through which its member countries can agree international standards (for example, the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted principles of risk analysis and guidelines for food safety assessment of GM food in 2003, and the International Plant Protection Convention recently adopted guidelines for determining if a living modified organism poses a hazard to plants); and, on request, and technical capacities for GMO detection, biosafety and risk assessment. The Food and Agriculture Organisation does not provide financial assistance to countries for the development of GMOs.

Haiti

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who will be representing the British Government at the International Donors' Conference for Haiti in July.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK will finalise its attendance at the International Donors' Conference in Washington DC on 19–20 July when the official invitation and agenda papers are received. These are expected shortly.

Haiti

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies the United Kingdom will be advocating at the July International Donors' Conference for Haiti.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The donor conference on Haiti, due to take place in Washington DC on 19–20 July, will consider the Interim Co-operation Framework recently completed under the leadership of the Interim Government of Haiti. This sets out a detailed assessment of Haiti's development needs. The United Kingdom will take a keen interest in the response of the development agencies to the Framework, and in particular how the needs of the large number of poor Haitians are addressed. DFID will also want to be assured that there is a clearly defined process leading from this initial needs assessment, to the production of a comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Haiti

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to urge the World Bank to support the Haitian Government in implementing economic policies that benefit poor rural communities.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: As a significant shareholder, the UK takes a keen interest in the policies and programmes of the World Bank, including for countries in the Caribbean. On Haiti, DFID has had a number of policy discussions with Bank staff about its future.
	DFID understands that the Bank senior management will very shortly be asked to agree grant finance for Haiti from a Trust Fund. The Bank is also designing a programme of substantial confessional lending to Haiti. DFID welcomes this indication of the Bank's commitment to supporting development in the country.
	The World Bank will be a key participant in (and co-host of) the forthcoming international donor conference in Washington DC on 19–20 July, which will consider the Interim Government of Haiti's Interim Co-operation Framework. The UK will attend the Conference, and will continue to engage with the World Bank and other agencies to promote policies and programmes that will help poor communities in Haiti.

Multilateral Institutions

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms are used to monitor the efficiency of departmental aid channelled through multilateral institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID has developed and is using a new objective, evidence based system for assessing and monitoring the effectiveness of multilateral institutions. The approach focuses on the organisational systems that enable multilaterals to achieve results on the ground in poor countries. This includes an assessment of whether multilateral agencies have internal systems to ensure that their own financing and allocation systems are driven by results and achieving the millennium development goals. DFID is applying the system to 26 multilateral organisations.

Zimbabwe

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the impact on food security in Zimbabwe next year of the lack of planting of wheat in the recent planting season.

Hilary Benn: Estimates indicate that less than 30,000 hectares of wheat have been planted and much of this has been planted late. This might produce a total of 100,000MT compared with a requirement of 400,000MT. The balance will have to be imported and could cost upwards of US$75 million depending on world market prices and transport costs.

WALES

NHS Statistics

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the (a) health expenditure, (b) hospital activity and (c) finished consultant episodes in the NHS in Wales in each year since 1999.

Don Touhig: I will answer this question in three parts:
	(a) Health expenditure in Wales since 1999, as per the audited Health Authority accounts, are listed in the table below:
	
		£ billion
		
			 Financial Year Amount 
		
		
			 1999–2000 2.649 
			 2000–01 2.880 
			 2001–02 3.144 
			 2002–03 3.450 
		
	
	(b) Information on the number of patients treated as inpatients or seen as out patients in Welsh hospitals is recorded in the table below. This data does not include day cases, nor some other types of hospital activity that is undertaken by other professionals such as physiotherapists.
	
		
			 Financial Year Inpatients Outpatients 
		
		
			 1999–2000 515,103 2,706,183 
			 2000–01 513,757 2,736,811 
			 2001–02 509,355 2,761,906 
			 2002–03 492,971 2,842,526 
		
	
	Source:
	Quarterly Statistics, issued by Statistical Directorate, National Assembly for Wales
	(c) The figures below relate to a count of Finished Consultancy Episodes for any patient who has been treated in Wales.
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1999 702,008 
			 2000 708,447 
			 2001 714,960 
			 2002 688,100 
			 2003 700,795 
		
	
	Source:
	Patient Episode Database Wales (PEDW)

TRANSPORT

British Transport Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent on British Transport Police for the North West in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The following figures have been provided by the British Transport Police:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 11,368,672 
			 2000–01 11,525,353 
			 2001–02 10,688,983 
			 2002–03 10,857,192 
			 2003–04 11,361,600

British Transport Police

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many police officers were employed by the British Transport Police on (a) overground policing and (b) underground policing on 31 March; and how many are currently employed.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows.
	
		
			  Overground Underground 
		
		
			 31 March 2004 1,709 550 
			 24 June 2004 1,713 556

British Transport Police

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the December 2002 revaluation of the British Transport Police Pension Fund was announced; when it was communicated to his Department; and when it was made known to Ministers.

Tony McNulty: The draft results of the 31 December 2002 valuation were made known to the corporate pension Trustee, the Fund's Management Committee and the SRA in June 2003. The SRA informed the Department at the same time. The final results were made publicly available after the report was signed off by the Fund's Actuary on 30 December 2003. The Department received a copy of the valuation on 8 January 2004. Ministers have no locus in the SRA's decision taking process on the Fund's valuation results.

Bus Quality Contracts

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish for consultation new guidance on the process for applying for bus quality contracts.

Tony McNulty: We are preparing guidance for local transport authorities in England on the process for applying for bus quality contracts. We intend to issue draft guidance shortly for formal consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders, including the bus industry. Guidance on bus quality contracts in Scotland was issued by the Scottish Executive in October 2001.

Departmental Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows.
	
		Department for Transport and Agency web sites -- £
		
			 Web sites Total cost for 2003–04 
		
		
			 Driving Standards Agency (DSA) 1,532,069 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) 1,198,000 
			 Department for Transport (DfT) 675,769 
			 Highways Agency (HA) 356,000 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) 39,688 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) 25,000 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)  
			 TAN (Traffic Area Network). 15,600 
			 Vehicle Inspectorate (19)—; 
		
	
	(19) No figures available
	The costs for both DSA and DVLA cover sites which provide information about the Agencies as well as sites which enable electronic transactions.
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
	The costs of web site development and administration costs for the Vehicle Inspectorate cannot be identified without incurring disproportionate costs. This is because the cost of the service provided by the external contractor incorporates a range of elements over a number of years including provision of the web site, which cannot therefore be identified as a discrete element of the overall costs.

Drivers' Hours Regulations

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers of foreign heavy goods vehicles were found to be breaking the Drivers' Hours Regulations in the UK in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many were prosecuted; and what penalties were imposed.

David Jamieson: The enforcement of drivers hours and records legislation is carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. Examiners check the tachograph equipment, tachograph charts and record books. The principal sanction imposed on a driver for any infringement of this legislation is that of prohibition. Prohibitions for drivers hours are immediate and prevent the risk to road safety from continuing. However prosecution action may also be instigated. The number of foreign drivers that received a prohibition for breaking drivers hours and tachograph legislation and those prosecuted for drivers hours offences are given as follows:
	
		
			  2003–04 2002–03 
		
		
			 Drivers prohibited 2,282 1,460 
			 Drivers prosecuted 2 5 
			 Penalty imposed Fine Fine

Drivers' Hours Regulations

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign heavy goods vehicles committed tachograph offences in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04; and what penalties were imposed in each case.

David Jamieson: The enforcement of drivers hours and records legislation is carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. Examiners check the tachograph equipment, tachograph charts and record books. The principal sanction for any infringement of this legislation is that of prohibition. However prosecution action may also be instigated. The number of prohibitions issued for breaches of drivers hours and tachograph legislation and prosecutions for tachograph/records offences are given as follows:
	
		
			  2003–04 2002–03 2001–02 
		
		
			 Prohibitions issued (drivers hours and tacho/records) 2,282 1,460 1,618 
			 Number of tacho/record offences prosecuted 0 3 11 
			 
			 Penalties imposed:
			 Offences fined n/a 1 6 
			 Offences dismissed n/a 0 2 
			 No separate penalty awarded n/a 0 3 
			 Not guilty n/a 1 0 
			 Withdrawn n/a 1 0

Operation Mermaid

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles were checked by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency examiners in the Operation Mermaid exercise on 15 June; what significant differences were noted compared to similar checks at the same point in previous years; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The third Operation Mermaid, a national check of goods vehicles both domestic and foreign, to be held this year took place between 14 and 18 of June. The number of vehicles inspected during the check, together with the results, is shown as follows:
	
		
			  June 
			  2004 2003 2002 2001 
		
		
			 Number of vehicles checked  
			 Roadworthiness 1,279 1,312 1,303 1,357 
			 Traffic Enforcement 870 979 1,029 1,055 
			 Total 2,149 2,291 2,332 2,412 
			  
			 Number of prohibitions issued  
			 Roadworthiness 323 (25.2%) 537 (40.9%) 310 (23.7%) 407 (29.9%) 
			 Traffic Enforcement(20) 146 93 116 61 
			  
			 Other 
			 Offences for investigation 91 129 108 178 
			 Verbal warnings 88 117 128 115 
		
	
	(20) Includes prohibitions for drivers hours, overloading, defective speed limiter and breaches of hazardous substance carriage regulations.
	These checks are highly targeted and do not reflect the underlying levels of compliance.
	Noted significant differences compared to similar checks held at the same point in previous years are as follows:
	The number of vehicles checked in June 2004 decreased by just over 6 per cent. when compared with June 2003.
	The number of vehicles checked has continued to reduce year on year. However the number of check locations and the number of VOSA enforcement areas taking part has remained constant year on year.
	The number of drivers hours prohibition notices issued for drivers hours offences increased.

Railway Sleepers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what representations he has received from UK small and medium enterprises about the ability to tender for removal of railway sleepers;
	(2)  how many companies tendered for the removal of railway sleepers in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004;
	(3)  how many representations he has received about the safety implications of lineside storage of removed railway sleepers in the last three years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 June 2004
	The Department for Transport has received ministerial and public correspondence on behalf of two companies concerning the sale of redundant railway sleepers. No correspondence has been received about the line side storage of removed railway sleepers in the last three years.
	Network Rail is a private sector company whose activities are governed by the regulatory regime provided by the Railways Act 1993 and general law. These issues relating to railway sleepers are commercial and operational matters for Network Rail and the companies concerned.

Road Safety

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2004, Official Report, column 1047W, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding the use of mobile telephones while driving.

David Jamieson: Ministers in the Department regularly meet their colleagues. The Home Office were consulted fully on the new offence prohibiting the use of hand-held mobile phones when driving. Enforcement of road traffic legislation is for the police.

Speed Cameras (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the revenue raised from speed cameras in Essex has been (a) allocated to road safety projects and (b) returned to Exchequer funds.

David Jamieson: For 2002–03, the latest figures available, the revenue raised from fixed penalties resulting from safety camera enforcement amounted to £5,672,200 of which £5,150,286 was returned to the partnership to fund its camera activity while £521,934 was passed to the Treasury. The rules of the Government Safety Camera Cost Recovery Programme provide that the resources from speeding and jumping traffic lights are ring-fenced and can be applied solely to costs associated with the operation of safety cameras. Other investment in road safety measures is funded within local authorities' and national road programmes.

Vehicle Operator Services Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding limited liability for insurers under motor insurance contracts.

David Jamieson: I have had no formal representations on this subject. Officials have taken the advice of the insurance industry in connection with the forthcoming European Fifth Motor Insurance Directive, and they have had further discussions with the industry on a range of subjects related to motor insurance.

Vehicle Operator Services Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Vehicle Operator Services Agency apprenticeship scheme has been withdrawn.

David Jamieson: The apprenticeship scheme for 2004 was withdrawn pending a review of its future. There has been dwindling interest from internal staff in recent years and, given the relatively high annual cost of £640,000 it was decided that a review of the costs and the benefits of the scheme needed to take place.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Blind/Visually Impaired People

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the availability of reading material in formats accessible to blind and visually impaired people.

Jacqui Smith: The issue of making publications available in formats that are accessible to blind and partially sighted people has been under discussion by publishers and the RNIB for several years. The DTI is now facilitating these discussions and hosted a meeting in April between publishers, authors, RNIB and the National Library of the Blind to discuss the provision of accessible formats for the visually impaired. The DTI will host the next meeting in July 2004 to discuss progress.
	The Government supported a private Member's Bill, the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002. Commencement of the Act was on 31 October 2003. The Act effectively reduces the previous delays in organisations gaining copyright clearances to produce books and other printed matter in formats that are accessible to visually impaired people.
	DTI officials will continue to promote dialogue between trade associations, publishers, the RNIB and the National Library of the Blind to facilitate the implementation of the Act and create a forum in which issues such as opportunities for the commercial production of material in accessible formats can be discussed.

Businesses (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government has taken to help small businesses in the constituency of Tamworth since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: The Business Link Operator for Staffordshire, Staffordshire Business Support Limited, has provided assistance to 1,476 enterprises, in the Tamworth constituency since 2001. The Small Business Service was set up as an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in April 2000. Contracts were exchanged with a national network of 45 Business Link Operators (six in the West Midlands) to provide Business Support to small and medium sized enterprises from April 2001. Before this date Government Support to business was provided through Training and Enterprise Councils and the SBS does not have access to this information.
	Of the 1,476 companies, 114 received Business Start Up advice, other assistance provided included Workforce Development, Financial advice, Investors In People, Specialist Business Advice, International Trade, and Marketing assistance. 107 of the companies were female run businesses and 33 were ethnic minority run businesses.
	Since April 2000 the Enterprise Grant scheme (which closed on 31 March 2004) enabled six companies to receive offers of grant with a total value of £130,350.
	Since 1997 the Research and Development scheme and its predecessor Smart enabled four local companies to receive offers of grant with a total value of £480,000.

Defence Exports

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Export Credits Guarantee Department cover was (a) requested and (b) offered for the export of Hawk aircraft to India.

Mike O'Brien: Although there were preliminary discussions with the exporter on the possibility of supporting the sale of Hawks to India, ECGD cover was not requested and no offer of cover was made.

East Midlands Development Agency

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the running costs, including staff salaries, of the East Midlands Development Agency were in each year since 2001; and what the projected costs for the next three years are.

Jacqui Smith: This information is set out in the Regional Development Agencies' Corporate Plans. As set out in the East Midlands Development Agency's (EMDA) Corporate Plan, the running costs, including staff salaries, for the period 2001–02 to 2005–06 are given in the following table. Figures for the financial year 2006–07 will be available early next year, when EMDA's next Corporate Plan is approved by Ministers.
	
		East Midlands Development Agency -- £ million
		
			 Financial Year Running costs Staff salaries 
		
		
			 2001–02 9 5 
			 2002–03 11 6 
			 2003–04 13 6 
			 2004–05(21) 14 7 
			 2005–06(21) 15 7 
		
	
	(21) Projected cost.

Economic Statistics (Merseyside)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the rate of growth in (a) business activities and (b) financial sectors in Merseyside.

Nigel Griffiths: The latest year-on-year data shows positive business and enterprise developments across the sub region as a whole. Total business numbers for 2003 are estimated at 38,360 an increase of 8.8 per cent. on 2002 levels. Survival rates continue to improve (92 per cent. from 90 per cent. for one year and 69 per cent. from 62 per cent. for three years) and inward investment performance is robust (£37.6 million in 2003 compared to £6.7 million in 2002).
	Additionally Merseyside per capita GVA has averaged annual growth of 5.3 per cent. outstripping the UK average of 5.0 per cent.
	Between 1995 and 2000 the financial sector Growth in Merseyside trailed the national average of 14 per cent. by 4 per cent. However employment in the sector between 2000–02 has increased by 16.3 per cent. and the sub region has seen reputable organisation like The Bank of New York and Couttes recently relocate there.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money her Department and the agencies for which it is responsible spent (a) settling and (b) contesting claims registered at employment tribunals for (i) equal pay, (ii) sex discrimination, (iii) race discrimination, (iv) disability discrimination and (v) unfair dismissal in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims have been made against her Department in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal in each year since 1997; and how many of these (i) proceeded to an Employment Tribunal, (ii) were withdrawn and (iii) were settled on terms that did not involve payment.

Patricia Hewitt: The answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Equal Opportunities

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects the new resource centre to promote women in science, engineering and technology to begin its work.

Patricia Hewitt: Work has been going on to develop the new Resource Centre, including the recruitment of 12 staff, since January. The launch of the Centre's website will take place on 2 July 2004 and the formal launch of the Centre is on 16 September 2004. The Government has allocated £800,000 per annum for three years to set up and operate the new Centre and an additional £500,00 per annum for the development of a dedicated returners package.

EU Legislation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 720W, on EU legislation, where the information sought is held.

Jacqui Smith: When representations about possible over-implemention of EU legislation are made to the Department, it is likely that they will be held with the records maintained in relation to the individual EU legislation.

Fuel Poverty

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the evidential basis was for the comments by the Minister for Energy, on 15 June, on removing vulnerable households from fuel poverty by 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: In my speech at the conference "Energy Policy in the UK: the Scottish Dimension" in Edinburgh on the 14 June I welcomed the good progress Scotland has made on fuel poverty, with 2002 figures showing a considerable reduction from 1996. According to the 2002 definition (common with England), figures show a reduction between 1996 and 2002 of 61 per cent. Based on the 1996 standards, which uses a different definition of income, the reduction would be 73 per cent.
	These figures are taken from the Government's UK Fuel Poverty Strategy Second Annual Report, published on 26 April 2004. Data for fuel poverty in Scotland shown in the report is sourced from the Scottish House Condition Survey.

Israel

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value of (a) imports from and (b) exports to Israel under the Israel/EU Association Agreement has been.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the EU's trade in goods with Israel since the start of the Israel/EU Association Agreement on 1 June 2000 is given in the following table:
	
		EU15 trade in goods with Israel, June 2000 to December 2003 -- £ million
		
			  EU15 exports EU15 imports 
		
		
			 June to December 2000 5,777 3,547 
			 January to December 2001 8,984 5,945 
			 January to December 2002 8,462 5,375 
			 January to December 2003 7,860 5,158 
			 Total June 2000 to December 2003 31,083 20,025 
		
	
	Source:
	Eurostat Extra and Intra EU Trade

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is her intention to wait until the passage into law of the Energy Bill before appointing the Chairman of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 24 June 2004
	I announced the appointment of Sir Anthony Cleaver as adviser to the Department of Trade and Industry on preparations for setting up the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on 18 June. The appointment has been made in the expectation that subject to the successful passage of the Energy Bill he would be appointed Chair of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. In the event that the Energy Bill is not enacted the appointment will be terminated. The appointment was made in consultation with the Scottish Executive.

Petroleum Reserve

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will set up a Government strategic petroleum reserve within the terms set by the International Energy Authority, independent of the oil companies.

Stephen Timms: No. Under a EU Directive the UK is currently required to hold stock equivalent to 67.5 days' annual consumption for use in a supply disruption. It meets this obligation by imposing compulsory oil stocking obligations on commercial companies rather than through a Government strategic reserve. We believe that stocks held by companies are, in the event of an emergency, more likely to be where they will be needed and capable of being quickly processed into the supply chain.

Playgrounds (Accidents)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents have occurred in British playgrounds in each year since 1984.

Gerry Sutcliffe: DTI no longer provides a service on accident statistics. Information on fatalities can be obtained from The Health and Safety Executive: www.hse.gov.uk tel. 0870 154 5500 and The Office for National Statistics: www.statistics.gov.uk tel. 0845 601 3034; or for non-fatalities from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents: www.rospa.com tel. 0870 777 2171.

Radioactive Material

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions since 1 May 1997 when radioactive material has been unaccounted for, broken down by (a) location, (b) volume and (c) radioactivity level of the material; and whether the material remains missing in each case.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 14 May 2004
	It is not clear to what kind of material the hon. Member refers. If he would like to write to me in detail I will consider the points he raises.

Social Enterprise Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the (a) turnover and (b) profit of the social enterprise sector was in each of the last 20 years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many social enterprises have been established in each of the last 20 years; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: I am advised that the DTI's 2003 review of existing mapping studies covering social enterprise is the only attempt to bring together work estimating the number of social enterprises across the UK. It roughly estimates there are around 5,300 social enterprises with trading income over 50 per cent. The Small Business Service's Social Enterprise Unit is undertaking a further research project to establish data on social enterprises. Figures for previous years are not available.
	Social enterprises play a valuable role in helping to create a strong, sustainable and socially inclusive economy. The Government greatly appreciates the work of the Social Enterprise Coalition and the SBS's Social Enterprise Unit.

Soft Drink Prices

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of changes which have occurred in the industry since publication of the Department's Soft Drinks National Pricing Survey in 1999;
	(2)  what steps other than the March Price Display Order she has taken in relation to the pricing of soft drinks in licensed premises;
	(3)  what steps she will take to assess the impact of the March Price Display Order in relation to the price of soft drinks in licensed premises.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since publication of the Soft Drinks Pricing Survey, we have worked closely with stakeholders to improve transparency of soft drink prices in licensed premises. This resulted in the publication of trade good practice guidance on price indications in the hospitality and leisure industry; the Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003; and DTI guidance on the new Order. We will be monitoring with stakeholders the combined effect of these measures on price transparency and on the overall cost to consumers of soft drinks in these establishments over the coming months.

SPC 2888

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  whether (a) the Export Credits Guarantee Department and (b) her Department were informed by BP, BTC Co. or members of BTC Co. of allegations of fraud in the procurement of the coating regarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline;
	(2)  whether the results of BTC Co.'s internal investigations into fraud allegations regarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline were conveyed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

Mike O'Brien: In February 2004 ECGD were informed by BP that an independent BP audit had been carried out into the procurement process of the SPC 2888 field joint coating for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The results of this investigation (that the allegations were "unfounded") were conveyed to ECGD at the same time.

SPC 2888

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment has been made into the use of SPC 2888 by major pipelines other than the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline where the pipeline is coated with a three layer, high density, polyethylene coating; and how many of the pipes coated with SPC 2888 (i) have been backfilled in Azerbaijan and Georgia and (ii) are waiting in trenches for backfill in Azerbaijan and Georgia;
	(2)  whether the SPC 2888 coating was subject to a full field test in simulated weather conditions before approval for use on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline;
	(3)  what measures were taken by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to check the specifications of the coating supplied by SPC for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline;
	(4)  whether the field joint coating specification used in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline included post-application heat induction.

Mike O'Brien: The WorleyParsons report on the field joint coating issue (SPC 2888), included a case history of use of SPC 2888 on other pipelines. It showed that SPC 2888 had been used extensively in North America. I cannot confirm exactly how many of the pipes coated with SPC 2888 have been backfilled or are waiting in trenches for backfill in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Information on the progress of the project can be found on: www.caspiandevelopmentandexport.com
	WorleyParsons also checked the suitability of this type of field joint coating. They confirmed that SPC 2888 was subject to testing in simulated cold weather conditions in an independent UK laboratory and that the field joint coating specification used in the BTC pipeline included post-application heat induction.

SPC 2888

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what percentage of the unburied pipes in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline coated with SPC 2888 have developed cracks in (a) Azerbaijan and (b) Georgia;
	(2)  whether the Department was informed about the discovery of cracks in joints coated with SPC 2888 prior to the decision (a) to fund part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project and (b) to disburse funds approved for the project; and what action was taken by her Department;
	(3)  when the Export Credits Guarantee Department was informed by (a) BP and (b) BTC Co. of the costs involved in rectifying the use of faulty coating in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project;
	(4)  when the Export Credits Guarantee Department was informed by (a) BP, (b) BTC Co. and (c) members of BTC Co. about the discovery of cracks in joints coated with SPC 2888 on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline; and what action was taken.

Mike O'Brien: I am told that there has been no reported cracking to the pipes. None of the pipes are coated with SPC 2888 the field joint coating, which is only used on the joints. There were reports of minor hairline cracking in the field joint coating over joints. ECGD has been informed through a WorleyParsons desktop study report that the percentage of unburied coated joints that experienced cracking in the field joint coating was as follows: (a) 2.6 per cent. in Azerbaijan, and (b) 26 per cent. in Georgia.
	No pipes were buried with defective joint coatings.
	I am told that ECGD first became aware of the cracking in the field joint coating in February 2004. BP/BTC had not informed ECGD before the allegations appeared in the Sunday Times article of 15 February 2004. ECGD was not aware of the cracking in the field joint coating prior to the decision to provide support on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project, but were aware prior to the initial disbursement of funds. The lenders, including ECGD, considered this very carefully before the first disbursement was made. ECGD awaits the results of a site visit by Worley Parsons, but has been assured by BP that the rectification costs will be considerably lower than the US$500 million alleged in the Sunday Times article.

SPC 2888

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of construction delays resulting from having to rectify the faulty pipeline coating on the short-term financial viability of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project.

Mike O'Brien: The BTC lender group (which includes ECGD) asked WorleyParsons Energy Services (the BTC lenders pipeline facilities independent consultant) to provide a report on the issues surrounding the field joint coating. This report included an assessment on what impact the field joint coating issues would have on the construction schedule and cost implications. WorleyParsons concluded that there would, at the most, be a minimal impact on the construction schedule and that the cost implications would be 'fairly small', although no final costing would be available until the recoating work was completed.

Consumer Gateway

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes there have been in consumer knowledge and access to information since the launch of the website The Consumer Gateway.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Consumer Gateway website was launched in July 1999. The Department of Trade and Industry last published statistics on the levels of consumer knowledge in January 2003, in the Consumer Knowledge Performance Monitor, Omnibus Tracking-Wave 3. This is available via the Department's website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/publications.htm.

UK Aerospace

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help, advice and assistance she has given to UK Aerospace to retain the Farnborough Air Show as a shop window for the industry; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Farnborough is one of the premier air shows in the world and shows clearly the range and success of the UK aerospace industry. It is ran and organised by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), which reported that $9 billion of business was concluded at the 2002 show. The opening ceremony this year will be conducted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who will also co-host a reception for senior industry figures and international investors with the Defence Secretary. A number of other Ministers are also expected to visit in order to demonstrate their support for the industry.

University Business Spin-out

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of HM Treasury about encouraging the spin-out of private firms from UK universities.

Patricia Hewitt: I have regular discussions with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues including the exploitation of research from the science base.
	The Lambert Review recommended that Government should set clear guidelines for third stream funding to rebalance commercialisation activities. The Government welcomes the report and is strongly supportive of the analysis in the review. The full Government response to Lambert will be published shortly within the 10 year science framework document.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Directorships (FTSE 100)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for Women what assessment she has made of the trends in the percentage of women in directorships of FTSE 100 companies.

Patricia Hewitt: The Cranfield University School of Management published their most recent Female FTSE report in October 2003. This indicated the representation of women in directorships of FTSE 100 companies as follows:
	
		
			  Female-held seats (executive and non- executive directorships) Female executive directorships 
			 FTSE 100 (October) Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 2003 101 8.6 17 3.7 
			 2002 84 7.2 15 3.0 
			 2001 75 6.4 10 2.0 
			 2000 69 5.8 11 2.0 
		
	
	As recommended by the Tyson Report, we commissioned a further study on the diversity of all directors in FTSE 100 companies. This research, which was also carried out by Cranfield, has now been presented to the Department and is currently under consideration. This continues to be an area which is one to which my right hon. Friend the Deputy Minister for Women and I attach great importance.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants and what percentage of the total Civil Service workforce in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng) on 22 June 2004, Official Report, column 1293W.

Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to his Answer of 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1538W, on public bodies, how many reviews of public bodies according to detailed guidelines were carried out by his Office between 1997 and 2002.

Douglas Alexander: Reviews of four non-departmental public bodies for which this department was responsible were conducted between 1997 and 2002.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Benefit Fraud

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much is estimated to have been fraudulently claimed in social security benefits in each of the past three financial years; and what the estimated amount is for the current year.

John Spellar: We are totally committed to a robust approach to tackling fraud and error and abuse of the social security system wherever it occurs.
	The Social Security Agency has a comprehensive and rigorous strategy for combating fraud designed to ensure that:
	claims entering the system are legitimate;
	once in the system claims are maintained properly; and
	where fraud does enter the system it is detected and appropriate action is taken.
	In the three-year period from April 2001 to March 2004, 40,000 cases of suspected fraud were investigated. Of these cases, over 16,000 resulted in withdrawal of claims or changes in the rate of benefit paid totalling £9.8 million.
	The estimated levels of fraud across the main benefits are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage £ million 
		
		
			 March 2002   
			 Income support 2.4 13.378 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 8.7 7.603 
			 Disability living allowance(22) (23)0.3 1.346 
			 Incapacity benefit(22) — — 
			 Housing benefit 2.1 7.025 
			 March 2003   
			 Income support 0.9 5.868 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 7.6 7.805 
			 Disability living allowance(22) — — 
			 Incapacity benefit(22) (23)0.3 0.960 
			 Housing benefit 2.2 6.967 
			
			 March 2004 3   
			 Income support 1.6 7.626 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 6.1 6.627 
			 Disability living allowance(22) (25)— (25)— 
			 Incapacity benefit(22) — — 
			 Housing benefit — — 
		
	
	(22) Disability living allowance and incapacity benefit levels are measured every two years.
	(23) These figures are based on a percentage of cases and an estimated financial projection as levels of fraud were found to be low.
	(24) Final year-end figures are not yet available. Figures shown for income support and jobseeker's allowance represent position at December 2003.
	(25) Available September 2004.
	The estimate for the current year (2004–05) will not be available until July 2005.

Civil Partnerships

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, columns 936–37W, on civil partnerships, what assessment he has made of the proportion of respondents opposed to the introduction of civil partnerships in Northern Ireland revealed in the report on the consultation.

Ian Pearson: The Office of Law Reform published on 10 May 2004 an Analysis of Responses to the consultation paper, "Civil Partnership: A Legal Status for Committed Same-Sex Couples in Northern Ireland". Overall 462 responses were received. Of these, 416 were from individuals and 46 from representative groups or bodies. Most respondents (86 per cent.) were opposed to the introduction of civil partnership in Northern Ireland. Most organisations (60 per cent.), however, including the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission were supportive of the proposal. Of those who opposed civil partnership, marriage issues featured as a significant reasons for objection (87 per cent.). There was an equal division in those who felt that civil partnership was in effect 'gay marriage' and those who were concerned that it would undermine marriage. A considerable proportion of those who mentioned marriage cited traditional Christian beliefs and values and referred, in particular, to the sanctity of marriage. Many of those in opposition mentioned religious issues as a basis for objection (69 per cent.), with children's issues a prime concern for others (56 per cent.).

Civil Service Pay

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to meet the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance to resolve the civil service pay dispute; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel met with union leaders on 8 March and again on 11 March. At these meetings officials emphasised that they could not reopen 2003 pay beyond the 3.67 per cent. envelope but that they were willing to explore all other reasonable means to resolving the dispute as quickly as possible.
	Since then officials have re-emphasised to the trade union that they remain committed to resolving the dispute. The Head of the Civil Service has also agreed to meet with the trade union as soon as possible to discuss the current situation. I am keen to move on to 2004 pay and have instructed my officials to continue negotiations as quickly as possible.
	Staff in the Northern Ireland Office are subject to separate pay negotiations involving NIPS A in relation to Northern Ireland Civil Servants. NIPS A is also taking industrial action in the NIO and officials are currently seeking a further meeting with the trade union.

European Elections

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many voters were turned away from polling stations in Northern Ireland at the recent European parliamentary elections for not having valid photographic identification.

John Spellar: The Chief Electoral Officer is currently engaged in retrieving the necessary information. As this is a complex exercise, I am afraid it is not possible to give a full reply at this stage. The question will be answered in full as soon as possible.

Farm Payments

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many payments in respect of each category of farm payment, and of what total value, are due to be paid to farmers in Northern Ireland by 30 June.

Ian Pearson: The total value and number of subsidy payments due to be paid out to farmers in Northern Ireland by 30 June 2004 is broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Premium Applications £ million 
		
		
			 Beef Special 58,918 47 
			 Slaughter 38,424 30 
			 Suckler Cow 13,147 48 
			 Extensification 20,964 35

Juvenile Justice Centre

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the inspection of the Juvenile Justice Centre by the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice will take place.

John Spellar: The inspection of the Juvenile Justice Centre by the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice will take place in October.

Juvenile Justice Centre

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many assaults there have been on staff by young offenders at the Juvenile Justice Centre in each month since its opening.

John Spellar: This is an operational responsibility of the Acting Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland (Artie O'Neill). He has advised me that there have been 24 assaults on staff since the centre opened in October of 2003, broken down by month as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 October 4 
			 November 5 
			 December 3 
			 January 3 
			 February 2 
			 March 2 
			 April 1 
			 May 2 
			 June(26) 2 
		
	
	(26) Up to 18 June 2004.

Loughbrickland Lake

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to restore Loughbrickland Lake as a prime location for brown trout and rainbow trout fishing.

Angela Smith: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure regularly stocks Loughbrickland Lake with brown and rainbow trout with the aim of sustaining the standing stock of takeable size fish at levels whereby anglers have a reasonable chance of catching a fish. There is very limited scope to improve stock levels by natural production.
	Loughbrickland Lake is similar to many still water bodies in Northern Ireland where fishing quality has suffered due to water quality degradation. Excessive weed growth is a particular problem on this lake. The Department has constructed a slipway to enable its weed cutting machine to be used on the lake and the channel has been deepened to allow its use when water levels fall.
	Other environmentally responsible means to control weed growth are under consideration.

Museum of Sea and Sky

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what progress has been made with the development of a Museum of Sea and Sky in Belfast;
	(2)  what discussions he has held regarding acquiring the aircraft held by the Langford Lodge aviation museum for the proposed Museum of Sea and Sky in Belfast.

Angela Smith: The Museum of Sea and Sky formed part of the first Development Plan of the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland (MAGNI). The proposal has since evolved into the more comprehensive museum development MAGNI @ Titanic Quarter. The MAGNI Development Plan is currently under discussion with a number of stakeholders, including the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB)'s recently published Strategic Framework for Action listed Titanic (Maritime) Belfast as one of its five signature projects and with Belfast city council (BCC) is now working jointly on this development. BCC have established a Titanic Forum comprising all the main stakeholders and the forum will take forward future research and interest for Titanic reflected tourism infrastructure. NITB and BCC have commissioned consultants to examine the potential for developing the Titanic concept including the potential for a museum development. MAGNI will consider the outcome of this alongside the potential funding implications.
	The aviation collection housed at Langford Lodge is in the ownership of the Ulster Aviation Society (UAS) and I am aware of the difficulties surrounding continued use of the Langford Lodge site. The Museums and Galleries for NI (MAGNI) are in discussions with the Ulster Aviation Society about the current position.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest estimate is of the number of myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers in Northern Ireland; and what the percentage change has been in each year since 2000.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the implementation of the Neighbourhood Renewal strategy will begin; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: Implementation of the Neighbourhood Renewal strategy has already begun. A consultation exercise on the areas and supporting structures has been completed. I intend to make an announcement shortly on the final selection of Neighbourhood Renewal areas. The intention is to take forward the strategy in three phases. Phase 1 the transition from former funding streams has already been implemented in Belfast and Londonderry. The details of phase 2 will be included in my forthcoming announcement.

NHS Direct

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made piloting the NHS Direct concept in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to my answer of 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 578W.
	Further to this, I can confirm that a Primary Care Strategy Framework document was launched for public consultation on 7 June 2004. The consultation period ends on 8 October 2004 and the result of the consultation will determine the priorities for the development of primary care services over the next 20 years.

Queen's Festival

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources were allocated to the Queen's Festival in each of the past five years; and what percentage of the total arts budget this represents.

Angela Smith: The following table shows resources allocated to the Belfast Festival at Queen's in each of the last five years. The figures in brackets show the Arts Council's allocation expressed as a percentage of its total expenditure on the arts, from Exchequer funds, in each year.
	
		£
		
			   Arts Council of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Events Company Northern Ireland Tourist Board Total 
		
		
			 1999–2000 105,000 (1.4%) 150,000 15,720 270,720 
			 2000–01 92,500 (1.33%) 100,000 15,000 207,500 
			 2001–02 107,500 (1.26%) 100,000 15,000 222,500 
			 2002–03 102,500 (1.49%) 87,955 13,800 204,255 
			 2003–04 190,000 (1.73%) — — 190,000 
		
	
	In addition to the above, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland provided National Lottery funding for Belfast Festival at Queen's in each of the last five years as follows:
	
		
			  National Lottery funding (£) Percentage of Lottery proceeds for the arts in Northern Ireland (Percentage) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 100,948 1.22 
			 2000–01 86,500 0.96 
			 2001–02 250,444 2.71 
			 2002–03 101,789 1.19 
			 2003–04 143,238 2.01

Sexual Health

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been provided to the sexual health advisory organisation Brook in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: Health and Social Services Boards have provided the following funding to Brook in the last five years:
	
		£
		
			 H&SSB 2003–04 2002–03 2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 
		
		
			 Eastern 67,481 56,925 55,072 62,728 52,420 
			 Northern 21,095 20,580 20,040 19,551 19,074 
			 Southern 0 1,732 1,072 1,292 1,500 
			 Western 385 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 88,961 79,237 76,184 83,571 72,994 
		
	
	In addition, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has provided one off funding to the organisation as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2003–04 0 
			 2002–03 4,000 
			 2001–02 9,000 
			 2000–01 6,450 
			 1999–2000 10,000

Traffic Volumes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what volume of traffic used the (a) A2 Bangor to Belfast road and (b) Bangor ring road, County Down (i) in the last period for which figures are available and (ii) in each of the last five years.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Lady Hermon, dated 24 June 2004
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about the volume of traffic using the A2 Bangor to Belfast road and the Bangor Ring Road in the last five years. I have been asked to reply as the issue raised falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive.
	The following table indicates the average daily two-way traffic flow figures recorded at a number of our permanent counter sites along these routes for the years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Figures for 1999 are only available for the City Airport site on the A2.
	
		
			 Location 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 A2 at City Airport 49,490 45,810 42,730 49,540 49,890 
			 A2 at Cultra — 36,290 35,680 35,820 35,320 
			 A2 at Springhill — 24,330 23,770 23,600 22,740 
			 Bangor Ring Road at  Clandeboye — 20,900 21,070 19,670 20,230 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

West Belfast Festival

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding has been allocated through Northern Ireland Departments to the West Belfast Festival in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The amount of public funding allocated to Féile an Phobail, often described as the West Belfast Festival, over the past three years through Northern Ireland Departments is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 258,030.41 
			 2002–03 358,138.26 
			 2003–04 317,321.28

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Child Poverty

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Secretary of State for Work and Pension's answer of 15 March 2004, Official Report, column 12, on child poverty, what extra resources the Government is putting into counselling; and what steps it takes to encourage people to resolve relationship difficulties in the interests of their children.

Margaret Hodge: There are number of ways in which the Government encourage people to resolve relationship difficulties in the interests of the child. For the financial year 2004–05, the Marriage and Relationship Support (MARS) grant programme provided £4.9 million to a wide variety of voluntary sector organisations providing marriage and relationship support. The MARS grant funds activities aimed at helping people establish, maintain and develop successful relationships with their partners. This includes encouraging people to resolve relationship difficulties in the interests of their children.
	Sure Start local programmes and Children's Centres through the range of family support and counselling services they provide often also provide opportunities for couples to discuss relationship issues. Similarly, a Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) officer might be involved at court directions hearings in providing assistance to children and their families to help them reach agreement on arrangements for their children, primarily in respect of contact and residence.

Teachers (Abuse Allegations)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the change in the number of sexual abuse allegations against teachers;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the rate of convictions in cases of allegations of (a) sexual, (b) physical and (c) verbal abuse against teachers since 1991;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects on teacher recruitment of increased rates of false abuse allegations against teachers.

David Miliband: Information about the number of allegations of sexual abuse against teachers and the rate of convictions in respect of allegations of sexual, physical, or verbal abuse against teachers since 1991 is not available. Consequently it is not possible to make assessments of this kind.
	My Department has no evidence that the issue of allegations against teachers is a factor that affects recruitment to the profession. Nevertheless, the issue of false or unfounded allegations against teachers, and other education staff, is one that we take very seriously. My Department currently funds a network of 25 regional coordinators who work with local education authorities, police and social services to improve the way allegations are dealt with, and we are actively seeking to identify ways of further speeding up the process and weeding out false or unfounded allegations as quickly as possible.

Adoption Register

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the operation of the Adoption Register.

Margaret Hodge: The Adoption Register's current contract expires in August 2004. The Department will shortly begin a competitive tendering exercise to continue operation of the Register for up to a further three years.

Child Care

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many childcare places were available for children aged under eight years old in each region in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The Department is unable to provide details of childcare places available for under eight year olds prior to March 2003. However, the table below provides a regional breakdown of the number of childcare places registered by OfSTED and available for under eight year olds at March 2003 and March 2004.
	
		
			 Region Number of childcare places available for under 8s at March 2003 1 Number of childcare places available for under 8s at March 2004 1 
		
		
			 Eastern England 95,889 112,417 
			 East Midlands 83,130 93,318 
			 London 131,829 149,995 
			 North East 40,318 48,814 
			 North West 140,923 165,430 
			 South East 177,974 199,830 
			 South West 96,533 106,493 
			 West Midlands 113,945 126,999 
			 Yorks and Humberside 87,281 99,389 
		
	
	(27) Net Places=The number of places added to stock, taking into account closed places in year.

Children's Services

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of regulation in the provision of children's services.

Margaret Hodge: My Department has embarked on an ambitious programme of reform in the provision of children's services. We want professionals to work together to improve local delivery, while ensuring that children receive high quality of care and education.
	The Green Paper, "Every Child Matters" sets out our commitment to achieving more coherent and effective children's services, reducing the amount of regulation where possible. The strategy therefore aims to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of children's services, with easier access to specialist services and duplication minimised through the development of a Common Assessment Framework and the use of lead professionals to bring together packages of support from multi-disciplinary teams to meet the needs of children, young people and their families.
	As part of these wider reforms, my Department has introduced the Children Bill into the House of Lords in March of this year. Regulation is being kept to the minimum necessary to achieve a robust integrated framework of services with clear lines of accountability, inspection and intervention. But we do still intend to regulate where this is needed to sharpen arrangements to safeguard children, eg in the establishment of statutory Local Safeguarding Children Boards to replace the current non-statutory Area Child Protection Committees.
	The provisions are intended to strengthen local flexibility to meet local needs. So for example, a new power for local services to pool budgets will enable more flexible pooling of funds between local partners and make it easier for agencies to work together in the commissioning and delivery of services. The Bill also pursues the streamlining of statutory planning requirements by removing the requirement for a plan to cover services for children in need. We have committed in debate to moving towards a single plan for children's services and our intention is to lift most statutory education planning requirements at the same time.
	My Department is committed to reducing bureaucracy—and is working jointly with the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit to identify unnecessary bureaucracy to promote more efficient, streamlined processes. This work necessarily includes a consideration of the regulatory framework within which children's services are delivered and will aim to deliver a practical set of key outcomes with stakeholders to deliver the changes needed to reduce bureaucratic burdens.
	My Department is committed to evaluate any measures that are implemented, either through the Children Bill or through policy more generally and will look again at anything which proves to be unnecessarily bureaucratic in practice.

Children's Homes (Privately-run)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places for children in privately-run children's homes there were in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Since 2002, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (and its predecessor) have collected information on children in all privately-run children's homes on a regional basis. The available information on the number of places for privately-run children's homes at 31 March for the London region are set out in the table; figures for individual boroughs are not readily available.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2002 643 
			 2003 676 
			 2004 718

Schools Expenditure (Warrington)

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) revenue and (b) capital expenditure was on schools in Warrington, South in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: We do not hold the information requested at constituency level. The table shows net current expenditure for revenue at local authority level.
	
		
			  LEA Total (£000) 1,2,4 
		
		
			 1997–98(30) Cheshire 350,072 
			 1998–99 Warrington 73,898 
			 1999–00(32) Warrington 79,896 
			 2000–01 Warrington 87,651 
			 2001–02 Warrington 97,022 
			 2002–03(33) Warrington 94,595 
		
	
	(28) Data sources are RO1 (ODPM) and Section 52 (DfES) collected at local authority level.
	(29) Net current expenditure (NCE) includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by the LEAs.
	(30) Cheshire LEA is given for 1997–98 as prior to local government re-organisation in 1998–99 what is now Cheshire, Halton and Warrington LEAs were grouped together under Cheshire LEA.
	(31) Total expenditure in schools includes pre-primary, primary, secondary and special schools.
	(32) 1999–2000 figures reflect the return of GM schools to local authority maintenance.
	(33) The outturn 2002–03 returns captured the data in a fundamentally different way to the previous years. Categories were aligned with the Consistent Financial Reporting framework and the spending by LEAs was no longer split by school sector. Consequently the unit costs per pupil in 2002–03 are not strictly comparable with earlier years. An estimate is provided using an apportionment of LEA expenditure based on pupil numbers.
	The following table shows capital allocations made to Warrington local education authority and its schools. Records of how capital allocations are spent are held locally.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1998–99 3,272 
			 1999–2000 4,222 
			 2000–01 8,041 
			 2001–02 8,061 
			 2002–03 8,646 
			 2003–04 8,821 
			 2004–05(34) 6,856 
		
	
	(34) further allocations for 2004–05 are still to be made.

Teacher Vacancies

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching posts were vacant in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in each London borough in each year since 1997; and what the average figures for a local education authority in England were in each year.

David Miliband: The following tables show the number of full-time teacher vacancies in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in each London local education authority (LEA). And the national average for LEAs in England as at January of each year.
	
		Nursery and primary
		
			 LEA 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 City of London 1 — 1 — — — — 
			 Camden 7 12 21 17 30 13 — 
			 Greenwich 5 31 52 16 22 23 15 
			 Hackney 23 51 38 47 51 21 7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 16 35 15 14 15 37 4 
			 Islington 3 27 10 20 38 17 7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea — 17 3 3 19 2 1 
			 Lambeth 20 6 46 36 35 32 7 
			 Lewisham 16 31 21 18 33 36 10 
			 Southwark 18 54 47 42 62 13 3 
			 Tower Hamlets 45 52 80 71 96 66 53 
			 Wandsworth 16 29 17 13 22 18 10 
			 City of Westminster 16 13 14 15 35 10 8 
			 Barking and Dagenham 27 10 12 8 13 — — 
			 Barnet 9 8 11 29 55 26 6 
			 Bexley 1 1 — 13 35 5 18 
			 Brent 16 20 13 5 8 21 42 
			 Bromley 6 11 6 9 26 10 7 
			 Croydon 21 8 25 8 29 13 7 
			 Ealing 15 17 32 14 13 21 17 
			 Enfield 5 11 19 13 29 27 16 
			 Haringey 22 20 20 19 22 30 30 
			 Harrow 4 9 12 24 32 29 19 
			 Havering — — 3 1 — 6 11 
			 Hillingdon 10 15 8 9 16 27 24 
			 Hounslow 7 8 5 3 4 19 22 
			 Kingston upon Thames — 5 6 1 9 3 3 
			 Merton 5 7 5 3 2 7 4 
			 Newham 70 61 34 40 52 26 13 
			 Redbridge 2 7 7 6 9 4 3 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3 2 2 3 9 6 6 
			 Sutton 3 4 2 — — 4 3 
			 Waltham Forest 35 43 2 — — 24 35 
			 National Average 7 9 9 9 14 12 7 
		
	
	
		Secondary
		
			 LEA 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 City of London — — — 1 — — — 
			 Camden 9 2 8 13 27 16 3 
			 Greenwich 14 22 9 14 39 36 26 
			 Hackney 1 9 30 22 45 38 6 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 8 12 8 8 28 44 19 
			 Islington 14 15 3 11 13 20 9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea — 3 6 2 16 5 9 
			 Lambeth 4 6 12 12 10 19 7 
			 Lewisham 7 18 8 20 35 23 9 
			 Southwark 6 6 14 30 33 8 5 
			 Tower Hamlets 12 13 12 26 55 13 29 
			 Wandsworth 13 5 12 10 25 24 31 
			 City of Westminster 2 4 11 14 12 15 10 
			 Barking and Dagenham 14 7 3 9 10 5 2 
			 Barnet 6 14 21 20 41 15 7 
			 Bexley 4 5 7 16 47 42 36 
			 Brent 10 8 17 5 15 27 33 
			 Bromley 6 4 7 3 35 19 15 
			 Croydon 2 5 11 28 46 28 13 
			 Ealing 8 30 22 18 53 19 21 
			 Enfield 4 6 9 15 33 33 21 
			 Haringey 20 10 13 14 19 26 46 
			 Harrow 1 2 5 14 24 23 24 
			 Havering 9 15 10 17 38 10 13 
			 Hillingdon 9 13 19 14 30 24 19 
			 Hounslow 7 14 10 5 14 52 35 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3 1 3 7 12 12 5 
			 Merton 3 — 6 13 11 6 12 
			 Newham 29 21 3 14 49 16 11 
			 Redbridge 2 10 7 1 31 6 2 
			 Richmond upon Thames — 1 2 12 18 19 14 
			 Sutton 2 5 5 1 10 15 14 
			 Waltham Forest 6 4 5 4 7 17 21 
			 National average 5 6 6 8 17 16 14 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618g)

Foster Carers

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will give foster carers official recognition as part of the social care workforce.

Margaret Hodge: We do recognise the invaluable contribution that foster carers make to some of the most vulnerable children and young people.
	The Green Paper, 'Every Child Matters' and the Next Steps document set out a vision for changing the delivery of services for children and young people. It included an explicit pledge to do more to attract new foster carers at the same time as retaining the excellent carers we already have.
	We are committed to working across a range of partnerships to transform the children's workforce—and we see foster carers very much as part of that. The emerging Children, Young People and Families Workforce Council, now in shadow form, will be part of the developing UK-wide Social Care, Children and Young People's Sector Skills Council. The Children's Council will work closely with employers and employer interest organisations, including those representing foster carers, in its plans for workforce development, covering issues such as recognition, regulation, reward, support and training.

Foster Carers

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the case for a national system of allowances for foster carers based on recommended minimum levels.

Margaret Hodge: The national minimum standards for fostering services already require that: 'Each foster carer receives an allowance and agreed expenses, which cover the full cost of caring for each child or young person placed with him or her'. Additionally some foster carers may receive a fee payment. We consider it is important for local authorities to maintain flexibility to reflect local differences in the cost of caring for a child.
	The Choice Protects Programme is supported by a £113 million grant over three years. In 2004–05 this amounts to £30 million for local authorities. This money can be used to improve payments for foster carers.

Foster Carers

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of foster carers.

Margaret Hodge: We are spending £1.5 million of the Choice Protects Grant in 2004–05 to develop a number of suggestions from the Green Paper to improve the status, support and training for foster carers.
	These include the development of a national award scheme, a national helpline for foster carers and support for foster carers facing allegations. We plan to invite bids from organisations to provide these resources shortly.
	In February this year we produced a Fostering Publicity Pack designed to help local authority fostering teams to run targeted local campaigns to recruit new foster carers for looked after children. We have awarded the Fostering Network a three year grant of £180,000 to support Foster Care Fortnight which has a particular focus on recruitment. We will also shortly be publishing an important new report that examines what we can learn from recent research on foster care. This will be accompanied by customised leaflets for all those involved in fostering.

Latin and Greek

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what correspondence he and his Ministers have had with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on the decision of the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance to cease examining Latin and Greek after 2006.

David Miliband: There has been no ministerial correspondence with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) on this issue.

Local Authority Secure Units

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his assessment is of unmet need for local authority secure unit beds.

Margaret Hodge: Following the Youth Justice Board's commissioning decisions earlier this year, DfES carried out jointly with the Association of Directors of Social Services a survey of local authorities to gauge any hidden demand for welfare placements in secure children's homes. The response to this survey was disappointing, which may in itself demonstrate that unmet need is not a widespread issue of concern to local authorities. Of the 22 responses received, only a small minority expressed concern about unmet need.

Mathematics (Multiplication Tables)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the teaching of multiplication tables in primary schools.

Stephen Twigg: The teaching of multiplication tables is an important part of the daily mathematics lesson in primary schools. Teachers are provided with key teaching objectives through the Primary Strategy's yearly teaching programmes and are encouraged to give priority to multiplication tables.
	Children's skills in using a range of mental computation methods—including recall of multiplication facts up to 1010—are tested in the national tests at Key Stage 2.
	The Qualification and Curriculum Authority recommends that teachers encourage children to memorise multiplication facts using a variety of learning skills.

Parenting Fund

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reasons work to support adult relationships was not included in funding allocations from the Parenting Fund.

Margaret Hodge: The Parenting Fund was announced in the 2002 Spending Review specifically as a fund to "help parents improve their parenting skills". This focuses on supporting parents in their parenting role, rather than support of the couple relationship.
	My Department's Marriage and Relationship Support (MARS) Grant already supports work focused on the couple relationship. I announced £4.9 million MARS funding on 10 May.

Pre-school Education

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged three to five years had access to education in West Bromwich East in each of the last eight years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available in the form requested.
	Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Sandwell local education authority area are shown in the table.
	The latest national figures on provision for three and four year olds were published in a Statistical Release Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2004' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.qov.uk/rsgateway.
	
		Number of free nursery education places1,2 taken up by three and four year old children in maintained nursery and primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers in San dwell Local Education Authority area: 1997 to 2003 -- Position in January each year
		
			 Year 3 year olds 4 year olds Total 
		
		
			 2003 3,300 3,700 7,000 
			 2002 3,100 3,800 7,000 
			 2001 3,200 3,500 6,700 
			 2000 3,200 3,500 6,700 
			 1999 3,100 3,900 7,000 
			 1998 3,100 4,000 7,100 
			 1997 3,000 4,000 7,000 
		
	
	(35) Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year old children.
	(36) A free nursery education place comprises five two and a half hour sessions of early years education per week, for thirty-three weeks of the year, usually three terms of eleven weeks. Children aged three and four in maintained nursery and primary schools are counted as taking up one place.

School Admissions

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure consistency in the decisions of different school admissions appeal panels;
	(2)  what guidance he has issued to school admissions appeals panels on the criteria that they should use in determining appeals.

David Miliband: The School Admission Appeals Code of Practice is statutory guidance for admission appeal panels and fully explains how they should hear appeals and reach their decisions. It is important that the panel should consider all the evidence and balance the needs of the school against the needs of the individual pupil.
	My Department has commissioned training materials for panel members and chairs of panels, which are available free of charge, and funded a number of events in recent years where training materials are disseminated. Over the next year this will be focused on those who train panel members at a local level. In addition, my Department funds a dedicated internet message board which provides a forum for discussion and the sharing of information and good practice on admission and appeals issues.

Schools (Kent)

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that Kent schools receive funding in an early phase of Building Schools for the Future.

David Miliband: We published the prioritisation criteria for Building Schools for the Future in July 2003; a copy of this guidance is in the House of Commons Library. We will consider Kent LEA's expression of interest against these criteria, along with all other authorities. The Department aims to announce which LEAs will make up waves 2 and 3 later this year—probably in the autumn. We hope also to provide some further BSF information to help all LEAs plan their capital strategies.

Special Educational Needs

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what systems are in place to ensure that children with learning difficulties are identified at an early age; and how many were identified in each local authority in the last year for which figures are available, as a proportion of the total school population.

Margaret Hodge: Local authorities, maintained schools, early years settings and others have to have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, published in November 2001, which gives practical advice on carrying out their statutory duties to identify, assess and make suitable provision for children with SEN.
	The Code of Practice emphasises the importance of early identification, assessment and provision for any child who may have SEN, and that assessment should be seen as a continuing process and not a single event. The importance of early intervention is also a cornerstone of the Government's recently published Strategy for SEN, 'Removing Barriers to Achievement'. This sets out our long term vision for SEN, together with a programme of sustained action and review, both nationally and locally.
	We want to ensure that children with learning difficulties receive the help they need as soon as possible. As part of our strategy, we are for example looking to embed in practice nationally the principles of the Early Support Pilot Programme for very young disabled children under three and their families, and to ensure that parents of children with SEN have access to suitable child care. It is also important to identify and disseminate good practice. That is why we have commissioned MENCAP to undertake a feasibility study for establishing a National Early Intervention Centre of Excellence.
	The available information is given in the following table. It shows numbers of children for whom statements were made for the first time in 2003 together with the relevant LEA school populations. It should be noted that some children have a statement maintained by one LEA but attend a school situated in a different LEA. The school population figures are based upon location of school rather than home residence of the pupils and so cannot be used to produce reliable proportions. Information is not collected centrally on when pupils are first identified as having special educational needs.
	
		Number of children for whom local education authorities maintain a statement of special educational needs (provisional) 1 -- By local education authority and Government office region in England
		
			  Children for whom statements were made for the first time during the calendar year 2003 Number of pupils in schools(38) 
			  Aged under 5 Aged 5 to 10 Aged under 5 Aged 5 to 10 
		
		
			 England 6,860 14,650 953,850 3,755,850 
			 North east 330 760 57,950 189,570 
			 Darlington 20 30 2,430 7,790 
			 Durham 50 70 10,600 35,830 
			 Gateshead 20 70 4,010 13,950 
			 Hartlepool 10 30 2,370 7,480 
			 Middlesbrough 30 60 3,770 11,220 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 20 50 5,540 18,590 
			 North Tyneside 30 30 4,570 14,330 
			 Northumberland 60 120 6,400 22,230 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 20 60 3,610 10,930 
			 South Tyneside 10 60 3,480 11,030 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 20 80 4,520 14,800 
			 Sunderland 40 110 6,640 21,400 
			  
			 North West 1,010 2,330 138,640 527,040 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 20 50 3,510 13,210 
			 Blackpool 20 20 2,130 10,710 
			 Bolton 40 50 6,170 21,310 
			 Bury 20 60 3,730 13,910 
			 Cheshire 100 210 11,210 50,920 
			 Cumbria 70 150 8,700 35,350 
			 Halton 30 100 2,230 9,360 
			 Knowsley 10 30 4,240 13,140 
			 Lancashire 330 490 19,660 85,400 
			 Liverpool 20 90 9,780 33,580 
			 Manchester 30 210 10,730 33,140 
			 Oldham 20 40 5,410 19,050 
			 Rochdale 40 80 4,730 17,080 
			 Salford 10 60 5,650 17,720 
			 Sefton 20 40 5,840 20,900 
			 St. Helens 20 40 3,640 13,730 
			 Stockport 50 120 6,150 22,080 
			 Tameside 20 60 5,040 17,080 
			 Trafford 40 100 5,080 16,820 
			 Warrington 30 120 3,580 14,880 
			 Wigan 40 110 5,470 23,030 
			 Wirral 40 110 5,970 24,650 
			  
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 750 1,280 106,270 383,660 
			 Barnsley 40 40 4,780 17,030 
			 Bradford 40 80 13,540 40,480 
			 Calderdale 40 50 4,360 16,140 
			 Doncaster 50 90 6,720 23,040 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 40 100 5,150 23,360 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 60 70 5,510 19,780 
			 Kirklees 70 100 8,390 31,000 
			 Leeds 50 90 15,640 52,330 
			 North East Lincolnshire 30 90 3,310 12,750 
			 North Lincolnshire 40 90 2,820 11,900 
			 North Yorkshire 50 90 9,150 41,220 
			 Rotherham 80 180 5,800 20,320 
			 Sheffield 110 100 10,340 36,990 
			 Wakefield 50 50 7,780 25,300 
			 York 10 60 2,980 12,020 
			  
			 East Midlands 470 1,200 78,990 321,180 
			 Derby 30 60 5,500 18,170 
			 Derbyshire 90 210 14,370 55,150 
			 Leicester 50 100 7,110 23,400 
			 Leicestershire 80 200 7,880 46,400 
			 Lincolnshire 110 310 10,590 47,880 
			 Northamptonshire 80 240 11,980 51,130 
			 Nottingham 10 30 6,530 20,750 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 40 14,480 55,890 
			 Rutland 10 10 560 2,430 
			  
			 West Midlands 760 1,740 111,720 415,160 
			 Birmingham 260 520 25,350 86,050 
			 Coventry 30 90 6,410 23,110 
			 Dudley 30 80 6,560 23,760 
			 Herefordshire 10 60 2,570 12,420 
			 Sandwell 20 30 7,840 23,710 
			 Shropshire 40 60 3,720 20,590 
			 Solihull 20 70 4,900 17,350 
			 Staffordshire 130 190 14,200 60,190 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 20 70 5,270 17,480 
			 Telford and Wrekin 30 60 3,520 13,240 
			 Walsall 30 100 7,370 21,050 
			 Warwickshire 70 120 8,600 37,410 
			 Wolverhampton 10 100 6,460 19,050 
			 Worcestershire 60 200 8,960 39,740 
			  
			 East of England 690 1,700 95,130 414,500 
			 Bedfordshire 60 100 7,660 30,970 
			 Cambridgeshire 100 240 8,340 40,260 
			 Essex 90 320 19,090 100,480 
			 Hertfordshire 150 240 25,050 83,890 
			 Luton 30 50 4,220 15,970 
			 Norfolk 100 280 11,890 55,240 
			 Peterborough 20 110 2,580 13,430 
			 Southend-on-Sea 20 60 3,030 13,190 
			 Suffolk 110 230 10,600 49,570 
			 Thurrock 20 90 2,680 11,500 
			  
			 London 1,170 2,470 167,910 544,160 
			 Inner London 370 980 69,740 202,410 
			 Camden 20 110 4,260 12,520 
			 City of London 0 0 70 420 
			 Hackney 40 70 5,840 16,680 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 30 70 3,410 9,070 
			 Haringey 40 100 5,840 17,480 
			 Islington 20 30 4,000 12,140 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 20 20 3,170 10,190 
			 Lambeth 20 110 5,920 16,600 
			 Lewisham 20 60 5,700 18,310 
			 Newham  30 8,790 23,820 
			 Southwark 40 140 6,720 19,910 
			 Tower Hamlets 50 110 6,310 16,680 
			 Wandsworth 50 90 6,110 17,760 
			 Westminster 20 50 3,610 10,850 
			  
			 Outer London 800 1,490 98,170 341,760 
			 Barking and Dagenham 70 50 4,440 14,300 
			 Barnet 30 40 6,810 22,790 
			 Bexley 40 100 4,820 17,800 
			 Brent 40 100 5,800 18,890 
			 Bromley 50 70 4,750 22,860 
			 Croydon 60 130 7,600 27,020 
			 Ealing 50 100 7,260 22,600 
			 Enfield 60 110 5,970 22,680 
			 Greenwich 60 70 5,620 17,150 
			 Harrow 30 90 3,840 15,900 
			 Havering 40 50 3,840 17,550 
			 Hillingdon 40 90 6,740 20,130 
			 Hounslow 60 130 4,790 15,250 
			 Kingston upon Thames 20 40 3,100 10,500 
			 Merton 30 60 4,490 12,140 
			 Redbridge 30 80 6,150 20,820 
			 Richmond upon Thames 20 30 3,370 12,930 
			 Sutton 40 70 3,790 12,930 
			 Waltham Forest 30 100 5,010 17,520 
			  
			 Southeast 1,120 1,900 124,750 604,210 
			 Bracknell Forest 30 50 1,690 8,380 
			 Brighton and Hove 30 40 4,170 16,000 
			 Buckinghamshire 100 120 8,160 38,000 
			 East Sussex 70 90 6,950 35,010 
			 Hampshire 140 220 17,200 93,850 
			 Isle of Wight 10 10 1,560 9,150 
			 Kent 150 170 19,900 105,250 
			 Medway 30 90 3,870 21,170 
			 Milton Keynes 20 70 3,990 17,080 
			 Oxfordshire 60 160 8,630 44,560 
			 Portsmouth 20 60 2,950 13,660 
			 Reading 20 40 2,520 9,340 
			 Slough 20 40 3,130 9,310 
			 Southampton 20 20 2,850 14,930 
			 Surrey 200 330 19,650 80,990 
			 West Berkshire 30 30 2,370 11,170 
			 West Sussex 110 250 10,640 54,360 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 30 40 2,330 9,930 
			 Wokingham 20 60 2,190 12,090 
			  
			 South west 570 1,280 72,490 356,360 
			 Bath and north east Somerset 20 60 2,400 11,920 
			 Bournemouth 10 30 2,100 10,070 
			 Bristol, City of 50 70 8,140 26,490 
			 Cornwall 70 240 7,490 34,810 
			 Devon 80 180 9,840 49,180 
			 Dorset 60 80 4,720 26,900 
			 Gloucestershire 40 170 7,320 42,560 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 30 130 
			 North Somerset 20 20 2,490 13,260 
			 Plymouth 40 90 3,830 17,770 
			 Poole 10 20 1,600 9,030 
			 Somerset 30 30 6,910 37,080 
			 South Gloucestershire 50 50 3,930 20,130 
			 Swindon 20 50 2,960 14,550 
			 Torbay 30 100 2,260 8,800 
			 Wiltshire 50 110 6,470 33,690 
		
	
	(37) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, therefore there may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and the total shown.
	(38) Total number of pupils in schools in each local education authority as at January 2003. These figures reflect the location of the school rather than the home residence of the pupils.
	  less than 5 pupils.
	Source:
	SEN2 Survey 2004 and the Annual Schools' Census 2003

Student Debt

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the number of students in higher education from (a) south west Surrey, (b) Surrey and (c) England; and what the estimated (i) average and (ii) overall student debt (A) was in (1) 1997 and (2) the most recent period for which figures are available and (B) will be in 2011.

Alan Johnson: The latest available figures for 2002/03 from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that there were 19,080 full-time undergraduates from Surrey and 793,895 from England; the number from south west Surrey is not held centrally.
	The table shows the average student loan debt, at the point at which they entered repayment status, for UK borrowers in financial years 1997–98 and 2003–04. Data exclude any voluntary repayments made before a borrower enters repayment status, however included are both hardship loans and any interest accrued up to the point of the borrower being liable to repay.
	
		Average student loan debt on entering repayment status (rounded to nearest £10)
		
			  Financial year entered  repayment status(39) 
			  1997–98 2003–04 2 
		
		
			 Mortgage-Style loans 2,290 6,110 
			 Income-Contingent loans n/a 7,200 
			 Part-time loans(41) n/a 650 
			 All loans(42) n/a 7,110 
		
	
	(39) Borrowers may have accounts in more than one cohort year of entering repayment status.
	(40) 2003–04 figures are slightly different to those given in a previous answer, due to revised information being provided by SLC.
	(41) Fixed-rate loans made to eligible part-time students/introduced in September 2000.
	(42) Borrowers can have more than one type of loan—figures on all loan types are calculated from a count of individuals.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company (SLC)
	Borrowers are liable to repay their loans from the April following graduation or otherwise leaving their course. Borrowers entering repayment status include those who attended shorter courses as well as those who have left higher education before completing their courses. Therefore the average level of debt will not be representative of the average debt experienced by those who complete their courses.
	The latest Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2002/03, which covered young, single, childless, full-time undergraduate students in higher education institutions in England and Wales found that final year students' average anticipated total debt on graduation was £8,666 in 2002/03. This included student loans, overdrafts, credit cards, commercial loans and informal loans. Detailed projections for 2011 are not available. Figures provided by SLC show the total amount outstanding in respect of UK student loans at the end of financial year 1997–98 was £3,574 million. At the end of financial year 2002–03 the amount outstanding was £12,255 million, including £1,428 million repayable to the private sector following the sale of two tranches of student loans. The figures include interest and loans not due for repayment at that time. 2002–03 figures are provisional. Detailed projections for 2011 are not available.

Student Loans Company

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many erroneous letters the Student Loans Company Ltd. has sent to Miss Laura Morley of Chippenham, Wiltshire; how much each letter cost; and what steps he advises her to take to end the correspondence;
	(2)  when he last met Mr. Seymour-Jackson to discuss Miss Laura Morley; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: I have frequent meetings with Mr. Seymour-Jackson of the Student Loans Company (SLC). This case was not discussed specifically as it is an administrative issue that was dealt with internally at the SLC. I understand that around 40 system generated letters were issued wrongly at a total cost of £10. Miss Morley's data has been corrected to ensure no further incorrect letters are issued. The SLC have apologised to Miss Morley who does not need to take any further action to end the correspondence.

Student Loans Company

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with Mr. Seymour-Jackson of the Student Loans Company Ltd. about its IT systems.

Alan Johnson: I have met with Mr. Seymour-Jackson of the Student Loans Company Ltd. over recent months to discuss the new IT system being introduced this year for the assessment of student finance applications in England and Wales. We last met on 9 June 2004 and have future meetings planned.

Summer Holiday Funding

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what level of funding is to be made available to support young people during the summer holiday period; and how the funding will be allocated.

Alan Johnson: There is a range of financial support for young people in further education, including the Education Maintenance Allowance and the Learner Support Fund, but these are not paid over the summer holiday period. The Department does provide for support for disadvantaged young people during academic holidays through activities funded under the Positive Activities for Young People Programme and the Neighbourhood Support Fund.
	Young people who live independently may be eligible for a range of benefits through the Department of Work and Pensions, and these are likely to be paid throughout the academic year, including holidays. Young people who live at home are considered as dependent on parental support and will not be entitled to benefits during holidays.

Sure Start

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of families made contact with their local Sure Start programme within the first two months after a birth in the last year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: In 2002–03, the latest full year for which data are available, fully operational Sure Start local programmes reported visiting 95 per cent. of babies within two months of their birth.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Administrative Costs

Alan Duncan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the administrative costs of the Department and its predecessors were in each financial year since 1996–97.

David Lammy: Total administration costs (net) for the Department, which covers costs for the Court Service, the Public Guardianship Office and DCA Headquarters was as per the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2003–04 756,475 
			 2002–03 726,916 
			 2001–02 605,004 
			 2000–01 570,076 
			 1999–2000 513,697 
			 1998–99 454,170 
		
	
	Resource Accounting and systems to capture resource data were first introduced in 1998–99 and the 1999–2000 Departmental Resource Accounts were the first to be published.
	Figures for financial years 1999–2000 to 2002–03 are in line with the published Resource Accounts. The total figure for 2003–04 is provisional, pending the final publication of the Resource Accounts for 2003–04.
	There has been a steady increase in administration costs, which is mainly attributed to the increase in workload for the Department as a result of the additional funding that has been received since 2001–02 for the increasing criminal case workload. Also, additional funding has been received since 2002–03 for the roll-out of the Libra IT structure to the magistrate courts and the growth of asylum appeal cases.
	Information on previous years is not readily available.

Lords Reform

John Lyons: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions the Department has had with the (a) Welsh Assembly and (b) Scottish Executive on Lords reform.

Christopher Leslie: None. The Government decided in March not to proceed with the planned House of Lords Reform Bill. They return to the issue in their manifesto.

MERIT Programme

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates, judges and magistrates clerks have been sent to see at first hand the Australian MERIT programme and drugs courts.

Christopher Leslie: Statutory responsibility for the training of magistrates currently rests with the 42 independent Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs). There are no central data collected on the specific information requested. However, a survey undertaken by the Justices' Clerks' Society (JCS) last year, showed that most magistrates have had access to training on Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO). The survey also revealed a general desire from magistrates for more information to made available to them and as a consequence a video and pamphlet was produced by DrugScope on behalf of the Criminal Justice Intervention Programme (CJIP). These materials were distributed to all magistrates courts and the Judicial Studies Board is currently preparing further guidance materials for magistrates on drugs issues. The development of material has been informed by a wide variety of external sources, including the experience of the MERIT programme.

Rejected Votes (General Elections)

John Barrett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many votes have been rejected for want of the official mark in each general election since 1979.

Christopher Leslie: The number of votes that have been rejected for want of the official mark in each general election since 1979 is as follows:
	
		
			 General election UK England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1979 3,282 2,034 293 804 151 
			 1983 2,819 1,698 166 709 246 
			 1987 2,408 1,463 76 599 270 
			 1992 2,593 1,381 123 660 429 
			 1997 2,169 1,238 124 482 325 
			 2001 2,548 1,486 142 686 234 
		
	
	Sources:
	1. 1979–97 statistics obtained from Appendix 1 of the Appendices to Minutes of Evidence (Volume II) to the Select Committee on Home Affairs.
	2. 2001 statistics obtained from the Electoral Commission document; postal votes, proxy votes and spoilt ballot papers at the 2001 general election.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Laryngectomy (Benefits)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he offers to adjudication for the assessment of disability caused by laryngectomy in the award of (a) attendance and (b) disability living allowance.

Maria Eagle: Attendance allowance and disability living allowance are paid as a contribution towards the extra costs of severely disabled people. Entitlement to the benefits is not based on disability itself, but depends on the extent to which disability gives rise to the need for personal care or supervision from another person and, in the case of disability living allowance, on the effect that disability has on a person's ability to walk. Decision makers dealing with claims for the benefits have access to guidance about laryngectomy from a number of sources. These include the Disability Handbook produced by the Department's Corporate Medical Group, "DLAAB Update" published by the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board, and doctors from the Department's Medical Services.

Benefit Fraud

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of benefit fraud were detected in Greater London in each of the last six years; and how many of these have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions.

Chris Pond: The number of cases of benefit fraud detected is not available. The number of cases resulting in prosecution and conviction are in the tables.
	
		Department for Work and Pensions London Region
		
			  Prosecutions Convictions 
		
		
			 2002–03 1,155 852 
			 2003–04 978 782 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. From 1 April 2002, DWP delivery organisations were restructured from 13 administration areas to 11 regions. Prior to that date, London counter-fraud operations were divided between three areas, each of which was responsible for a part of Greater London, but also counties outside of London. It is therefore not possible to provide data for fraud operations in Greater London for that period. Data since 1 April 2002 is shown below and relates to the DWP London Region, which is not entirely coterminous with the Greater London Area.
	2. The figures for 2002–03 included some successful cases from the former Area Directorates during the period of transition to the new regional structure.
	3. "Prosecutions" refers to the number of cases forwarded to solicitors and accepted by them for prosecution.
	4. In 2003–04 reporting rules changed for instrument of payment investigations. Previously each offence was recorded, now each defendant is shown. Thus, a defendant committing five offences is recorded as a single case, not 5 cases.
	Source:
	Fraud Information By Sector database
	
		London local authorities
		
			  Prosecutions Convictions 
		
		
			 1997–98 N/A 180 
			 1998–99 N/A 193 
			 1999–2000 N/A 111 
			 2000–01 N/A 119 
			 2001–02 312 216 
			 2002–03 372 294 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. "Prosecutions" refers to the number of summonses issued by local authorities.
	2. Data on the number of summonses issued by local authorities is not available prior to 2001–02.
	3. Data on the number of convictions for financial years 1997–98 to 2000–01 is not available for all local authorities. The total for London boroughs includes estimates for local authorities that have not responded. These estimates are based on historical and regional data. This type of estimate is standard practice in reporting totals where there have been non-respondents.
	4. Figures for convictions may refer to summonses issued in previous years.
	Source:
	The data from 2001–02 on only includes actual reported prosecutions for which rewards were claimed under the SAFE or modified WBS schemes. Prior to this the numbers are taken from management information returns.

Benefit Payments

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed (a) council tax benefit, (b) housing benefit and (c) housing benefit and council tax benefit in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in the last three years; how many domestic council tax payers there were in each year; and what percentage of council tax payers claimed council tax benefit.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the table.
	
		Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) recipients, and CTB recipients as a percentage of chargeable dwellings in Newcastle upon Tyne
		
			  HB CTB CTB recipients as a percentage of chargeable dwellings 
		
		
			 November 2001 31,100 34,100 30.4 
			 November 2002 30,500 33,600 30.0 
			 November 2003 29,600 32,800 29.4 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The caseload data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, and the percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
	3. Council Tax Benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
	4. Housing Benefit totals exclude Extended Payments cases.
	5. It is not possible to determine the number receiving both HB and CTB as this data is taken from a 1 per cent. sample and cannot be split lower than Government Office Region level due to the high level of sampling variation.
	6. The number of Council Tax payers is not available and the closest definition to this is the number of chargeable dwellings. Each chargeable dwelling is liable for one Council Tax bill.
	Source:
	1. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100per cent caseload stock-count taken in November 2001, 2002 and 2003.
	2. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister—numbers of chargeable dwellings from local authority returns at November 2001, 2002 and 2003.

British Sign Language

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what organisations have received grants from his Department to promote British Sign Language in the last three years;
	(2)  how much has been spent on grants by his Department to promote British Sign Language in the last three years;
	(3)  what organisations he consulted in the last three years before distributing grants to promote British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: On 4 May I announced that the Department was putting in place a programme of work to support the Government's position statement on British Sign Language (BSL). Funding of £1.5 million has been awarded to the following 10 lead organisations: the British Deaf Association; the Centre for Deaf People Leicester; the Centre for Deaf Studies—University of Bristol; Christian Deaf Link; Consortium of Assessment and Training Providers; BSL Consortium—UK Council on Deafness; Deafplus; Leeds University; National Deaf Children's Society; Remark!. The contracts will leave a legacy of improved access to training for BSL tutors and increased awareness of the language.
	The Department established a BSL working group to advise, among other things, on priorities for allocating the additional funding described. Organisations represented on the group are the British Deaf Association; the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People; the Federation of Deaf People; The National Deaf Children's Society; The Royal National Institute for Deaf People; The UK Council on Deafness.
	Earlier contracts to the value of £444,000 were awarded to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People to increase the number of BSL interpreters and to improve the training and assessment infrastructure for interpreters.

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants and what percentage of the total Civil Service workforce in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 June 2004, Official Report, volume 422, column 1292–93W.

Community Service Orders

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on schemes to reduce the benefits of people who breach their community service orders; and how much benefit was withdrawn in each year as a result.

Chris Pond: The information is in the tables.
	
		Amount of benefit withdrawn by benefit and tax year -- (£000)
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 3,000 54,000 55,000 
			 Income Support 1,000 20,000 27,000 
			 Total 4,000 74,000 82,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	2. Data is based on clerical returns received at the Information Centre, IAD between 15 October 2001 and 15 May 2004. However the benefit loss figures are calculated using the period 15 May 2001–13 February 2004 and are the latest figures available at this time.
	3. A number of offenders have been sanctioned more than once and are therefore counted for each sanction in these figures.
	4. The Community Order and Withdrawal of Benefits pilot came into force on 15 October 2001 and as such the 2001–02 tax year represents the period 15 October 2001 to 31st March 2002.
	5. The latest figures available for withdrawal of benefit is 20 February 2004 and as such the 2003–04 tax year represents the period 1st April 2003 to 20 February 2004.
	Source:
	Information Centre, IAD DWP
	
		DWP costs of administration of Community Service Pilot  -- (£000)
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 2000–01 61,000 
			 2001–02 253,000 
			 2002–03 121,000 
			 2003–04 226,000 
			 Total 661,000 
		
	
	Note:
	The overall costs are financial year-end figures. These figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and include the one-off initial start-up costs (approximately £262,000), the bulk of which was for the IT development necessary to implement the measures

Departmental Administration Budgets

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made towards the 5 per cent. reduction in real terms in his Department's administration budget by 2008 announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331.

Maria Eagle: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 2006–08 to be announced in detail later this year.

Departmental Offices

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) Pension Service, (b) Jobcentre Plus and (c) Social Security offices there are in the United Kingdom.

Maria Eagle: The information is not held in the format requested. However, the Department occupies 1,746 buildings in Great Britain. Of these, The Pension Service is the major occupier in 44 buildings and Jobcentre Plus is the major occupier in 1,554. The major occupiers of the remaining 148 buildings are Child Support Agency, The Appeals Service, Disability and Carers Service or the Department's Corporate Centre.
	Information about buildings in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Injuries Advisory Council Report

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish his response to the Injuries Advisory Council Report on Prescribed Disease A11.

Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received the report by the Industrial Injuries Council on Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome in March 2004. This report recommends certain changes to the terms of prescription for Prescribed Disease A11. The report contains a comprehensive review of the current science and medicine.
	We are still carefully considering the full implications of the report. We hope to be in a position to publish the report in the near future.

Pensioner Poverty

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners have an income below the mean net income.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number (million) Percentage 
		
		
			 Pensioners with household incomes less than mean income (2002–03) 
			 Before housing costs 8.0 80 
			 After housing costs 7.5 75 
			 All individuals with household incomes less than mean income (2002–03) 
			 Before housing costs 37 65 
			 After housing costs 36 64 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset which is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). Figures do not included Northern Ireland and 2002–03 is the latest year available.
	2. The income measure used in HBAI is weekly net (disposable), equivalised household income (that is to say income that is adjusted to reflect household size and composition).
	3. The estimates are sample counts, which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for region, council tax band and a number of other demographic values. Estimates are subject to both sampling error and variability in non-response. All percentages are rounded to the nearest per cent.
	4. The estimates are presented on both a Before Housing Costs (BHC) and an After Housing Costs (AHC) basis in line with HBAI conventions.
	5. An adjustment is made to sample cases at the top of the distribution to correct for volatility in the highest incomes captured in the survey. This adjustment uses data from the Inlands Revenue's Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) to control the number and income levels of the very rich while retaining the FRS data on the characteristics of their household.

Pensioners (Benefits)

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners his Department estimates (a) were eligible for means-tested benefits and (b) were claiming means-tested benefits in each year since 1997, broken down by benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is provided in the table.
	
		Table 1: Percentage of GB pensioners that were either in receipt or were entitled to but not receiving the following entitlements -- Percentage
		
			 Financial year Income support/minimum income guarantee Housing benefit Council tax benefit 
		
		
			 1997–98 (21:26) (23:25) (41:45) 
			 1998–99 (21:25) (23:24) (42:45) 
			 1999–2000 (21:25) (22:24) (42:46) 
			 2000–01 (22:25) (21:23) (41:45) 
			 2001–02 (25:28) (22:23) (45:49) 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The estimates are presented as estimated entitled non-recipients ranges to reflect the uncertainty in the number of based on DWP Family Resources Survey data.
	2. Latest estimates available relate to financial year 2001–02.
	3. Pensioners are defined as either a single person aged at least 60 or, if within a couple, at least one person is aged 60 years or over.
	4. Pensioners in residential care and nursing homes are excluded from the figures.
	Information requested on percentage of pensioners receiving income related benefits since 1997 is in the tables.
	It should be noted that there are overlaps between some benefits, individual benefit counts should not be added together to give a total number of pensioners on income related benefit. The following table therefore provided details of the total number of pensioners receiving each entitlement.
	
		Table 1: Pensioner beneficiaries of means-tested Benefits(43) as a percentage of the population: Great Britain May 1997 to May 2002
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over of means-tested benefits Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 3,810,000 32.5 
			 1998 3,670,000 31.1 
			 1999 3,540,000 29.9 
			 2000 3,420,000 28.7 
			 2001 3,380,000 28.3 
			 2002 3,290,000 27.4 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Income support (MIG)
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 1,903,000 16.2 
			 1998 1,830,000 15.5 
			 1999 1,789,000 15.1 
			 2000 1,784,000 15.0 
			 2001 1,907,000 16.0 
			 2002 1,945,000 16.2 
		
	
	
		Table 3: Income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA (IB))
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 10,000 0.1 
			 1998 8,000 0.1 
			 1999 8,000 0.1 
			 2000 7,000 0.1 
			 2001 5,000 0.0 
			 2002 7,000 0.1 
		
	
	
		Table 4: Family credit (FC)
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 3,000 0.0 
			 1998 3,000 0.0 
			 1999 2,000 0.0 
		
	
	
		Table 5: Disability working allowance (DWA)
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 350 0.0 
			 1998 465 0.0 
			 1999 530 0.0 
		
	
	
		Table 6: Housing benefit (HB)
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 2,194,000 18.7 
			 1998 2,146,000 18.2 
			 1999 2,070,000 17.5 
			 2000 1,977,000 16.6 
			 2001 1,939,000 16.2 
			 2002 1,888,000 15.7 
		
	
	
		Table 7: Community charge (CCB) or council tax benefit (CTB)
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over Percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
		
		
			 1997 3,229,000 27.5 
			 1998 3,169,000 26.9 
			 1999 3,075,000 26.0 
			 2000 2,917,000 24.5 
			 2001 2,891,000 24.2 
			 2002 2,834,000 23.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Means tested benefits included in table 1 are IS (MIG), JSA (IB), HB and /CTB
	2. Figures for years 1997–99 exclude small number of DWA and FC cases.
	3. Overlaps between benefits have been removed.
	4. Great Britain HB/CTB figures include estimates for local authorities that have not responded.
	5. CTB data excludes Second Adult Rebate cases.
	6. HB data excludes any Extended Payment cases.
	7. The Percentage for population in receipt of benefit is based on the ONS mid 2002 population estimates of all persons aged 60 and over, for those years
	8. Figures (except DWA) are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and therefore subject to sampling variation.
	9. IS, JSA, HB, CTB and FC beneficiaries figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and DWA is rounded to the nearest 5. [tables 2–7]
	10. Beneficiaries of a benefit unit are the sum of claimants and their partners.
	11. Figures for years 1997–99 exclude small number of DWA and FC cases.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent., 5 per cent. and 1 per cent. sample.

Potters Bar Rail Accident

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to conclude its investigations into the Potters Bar rail accident; and if he will make a statement on the HSE's work to date.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	The Health and Safety Executive advise that their investigation into the Potters Bar rail accident, which is continuing, is expected to conclude in September or October 2004.

Self-storage

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Health and Safety Executive has received representations concerning the storage of hazards in self-storage sites; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has received one representation regarding storage of hazards in self-storage sites from Derbyshire District Council, relating to an explosion which had occurred at Macaravans Ltd, Trent Lane, Kings Newton, Melbourne, Derbyshire on 19 May 2004

Social Security Appeals

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many social security appeal decisions have not been implemented by executive agencies linked to his Department in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: In law the circumstances when a decision of a social security appeal tribunal will not be implemented are: (i) when the Secretary of State is granted leave to appeal the decision to the Social Security and Child Support Commissioners; (ii) when the decision is set aside and the appeal re-heard; and, (iii), where the tribunal's decision is made in ignorance or mistake as to material fact and is superseded. The number of appeals is in the table. Information about set aside and decisions superseded is not available.
	
		
			  Appeals to the Commissioners 
		
		
			 2001–02 68 
			 2002–03 57 
			 2003–04 110

Winter Fuel Allowance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior citizens in Tamworth have benefited from the winter fuel allowance since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The number of senior citizens in the Tamworth constituency who have benefited from a winter fuel payment in each year since 1999–2000 (including provisional figures for 2003–04) is in the table. Information relating to the 1997–98 and 1998–99 winters is not available.
	
		
			  Payments made 
		
		
			 1999–2000 12,515 
			 2000–01 14,475 
			 2001–02 14,845 
			 2002–03 15,225 
			 2003–04 15,575 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5.
	2. Please note that the figures for 2003–04 refer only to the main payment run, i.e. they do not include the late payment run figures. We estimate that there are approximately 100,000 people in Great Britain paid via late payment runs (0.8 per cent. of all payments). Since most of the payments made in late payment runs are to people who are not receiving another benefit from DWP and whose claims had not been received by the Qualifying Week, most are to men aged 60.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. samples.

Work Incentives (Homeless Households)

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures he plans to introduce to increase work incentives for statutorily homeless households placed in temporary accommodation.

Chris Pond: pursuant to my reply 21 June 2004, Official Report, c. 1263W
	Homeless people who are at a distinct disadvantage in the labour market, and who are claiming benefits, are entitled to early access to the range of help available from Jobcentre Plus, such as the New Deal. This includes those statutorily homeless households placed in temporary accommodation. In addition, Jobcentre Plus is also piloting specialised support for clients who have additional barriers to work including homelessness. These pilots are aimed at helping homeless people, alcohol misusers and offenders move into work. There are progress2work-LinkUp pilots based in 23 Jobcentre Plus Districts.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Disadvantaged Children

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of disadvantaged children live in the 20 per cent. most deprived wards in England.

Yvette Cooper: 54.26 per cent. of children living in households which are reliant on means tested benefits, live in the 20 per cent. most deprived wards based on data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000.

Advisers (North-east Lincolnshire)

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the advisers seconded to North East Lincolnshire are able to (a) accept and (b) propose cuts in spending on education.

Nick Raynsford: The Office for the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) currently has no staff seconded to North East Lincolnshire council. ODPM is providing funding to allow the council to employ interim staff to provide help and expertise in developing their financial systems. The interim staff are not in a position to decide cuts in any service or corporate budget. Only the council can decide how and where it will make savings.

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants and what percentage of the total Civil Service workforce in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1292–93W.

Correspondence

Keith Bradley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter of 19 February, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, on behalf of his constituent, Mr. Alan Gellion.

Yvette Cooper: I replied to this letter on 25 June.

Council House Waiting Lists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the waiting lists were for council housing in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley, broken down by (i) houses, (ii) flats and (iii) old age pensioner bungalows, in each of the last five years.

Keith Hill: Local authority figures supplied to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister show the total number of households on the housing registers in Chorley, Lancashire and the North West are as follows.
	
		
			  Chorley Lancashire (including Chorley) North West (including Chorley) 
		
		
			 1999 869 21,715 118,829 
			 2000 1,050 21,832 116,937 
			 2001 1,017 18,450 112,405 
			 2002 1,017 20,119 121,213 
			 2003 1,323 26,879 155,702 
		
	
	This data cannot be further disaggregated to match the categories requested.

Council Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Birkenhead since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 21 April 2004, Official Report, c. 493 W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Wirral allocations, which include Birkenhead, in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 60 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Council Housing

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the effect of changes in the level of council funding for housing upon residents of Wirral South since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 21 April 2004, Official Report, c. 493W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Wirral's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 60 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Decent Homes Standard (London)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of the number of council dwellings in London that reach the Decent Homes Standard, broken down by London borough.

Keith Hill: The following table illustrates the numbers of local authority owned dwellings in London classed as decent, as reported on the 2003 Housing Investment Programme (HIP) Business Plan Statistical Appendices.
	
		
			 Authority Number LA dwellings that are decent at 2003 Total LA dwellings 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 9,200 21,800 
			 Barnet 6,700 11,600 
			 Brent 5,000 10,200 
			 Camden 9,400 25,700 
			 City of London 900 2,000 
			 Croydon 8,900 14,800 
			 Ealing 10,100 14,600 
			 Enfield 8,800 12,800 
			 Greenwich 4,800 26,700 
			 Hackney 8,000 26,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,800 13,900 
			 Haringey 7,600 18,100 
			 Harrow 2,600 5,300 
			 Havering 7,700 11,500 
			 Hillingdon 7,900 11,400 
			 Hounslow 5,300 14,600 
			 Islington 11,000 30,100 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,900 7,100 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,600 5,000 
			 Lambeth 19,100 33,800 
			 Lewisham 11,100 28,600 
			 Merton 4,700 7,000 
			 Newham 11,200 21,800 
			 Redbridge 3,700 5,000 
			 Southwark 23,800 46,100 
			 Sutton 4,800 8,300 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,200 24,500 
			 Waltham Forest 1,200 11,200 
			 Wandsworth 15,900 18,100 
			 Westminster 4,100 13,000

Deprived Wards

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the 20 per cent. most deprived wards in the country.

Yvette Cooper: It is only possible to list the 20 per cent. most deprived wards with reference to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 (IMD 2000), which is now very out-of-date. Data on the IMD 2000 can be accessed on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: www.odpm.gov.uk/indices
	The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (IMD 2004), revised on 17 June 2004, does not provide information on deprivation at ward level. The IMD 2004 has been produced at Super Output Area Lower Layer (SOA) level to transcend problems experienced with wards. Wards are not consistent in size, covering anything from 800 to 35,000 people. They are also subject to frequent ward boundary changes. SOAs, on the other hand, cover between 1,000 and 3,000 people and are designed to last for approximately 20 years. Following a wide public consultation in 2003, it was decided that producing the IMD at SOA level would provide consistency both in terms of size of population and over time.
	A table providing a list of authorities with SOAs that fall within the 20 per cent. most deprived in the country has been made available in the Library of the House.

Election Turnout

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the turnout was as a percentage of eligible voters at the local elections on (a) 10 June and (b) the previous comparable local election date, broken down by region.

Nick Raynsford: Based on data supplied so far by Local Returning Officers, the turnout as a percentage of eligible voters at the local elections in England on 10 June by regions is as follows: East 37.54 per cent., East Midlands 44.52 per cent., North East 44.30 per cent., North West 43.10 per cent., South East 37.76 per cent., South West 38.15 per cent., West Midlands 36.56 per cent. and Yorks and Humber 42.23 per cent.
	The average for the previous comparable local elections were as follows: East 31.84 per cent., East Midlands 33.65 per cent., North East 44.61 per cent., North West 31.70 per cent., South East 30.90 per cent., South West 32.68 per cent., West Midlands 29.88 per cent. and Yorks and Humber 33.45 per cent..

Homeless Households

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless households in priority need were in temporary accommodation on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) 1 May 2004, broken down by Government Office Region.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities report information on their activities under homelessness legislation quarterly, and this includes the number of homeless households in various forms of temporary accommodation as on the last day of the quarter. The position in each Government Office region as at 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2004 is tabled as follows.
	
		Homeless households(43) in all forms of temporary accommodation, by Government Office Region
		
			  31 March 1997 31 March 2004 
		
		
			 North East 480 770 
			 North West 2,100 2,830 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 1,000 2,400 
			 East Midlands 1,380 2,820 
			 West Midlands 1,070 2,140 
			 Eastern 2,600 8,220 
			 London 24,060 59,170 
			 South East 6,390 12,790 
			 South West 2,210 6,150 
			 England(44) 41,250 97,290 
		
	
	(43) Households in accommodation arranged by local authorities pending inquiries or after being accepted under homelessness legislation.
	(44) Totals may not equal the sum of components because of rounding.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)
	The definition of households in priority need was changed in the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002 to widen the categories of households eligible for support.

Homeless Households

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the local authorities that failed to submit a P1E return with the number of homeless households in priority need placed in temporary accommodation for the most recent quarterly statistics; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures he has taken to ensure that all local authorities submit a P1E return detailing the number of homeless households in priority need they have placed in temporary accommodation.

Yvette Cooper: The Supplementary Table which was published along with the Statistical Release for the first quarter of 2004 on 16 June shows the following sixteen authorities had not provided a P1E return by the time final analyses were prepared:
	
		
			 Region  
		
		
			 North West: Fylde, Warrington 
			 East Midlands: Chesterfield, Hinckley and Bosworth, Lincoln 
			 West Midlands: Stratford on Avon, Tamworth 
			 East of England: Castle Point, Mid Suffolk(45), Southend on Sea 
			 London: Ealing, Islington(45), Kingston upon Thames(45) 
			 South East: Medway(45), Rother(45) 
			 South West: Isle of Scilly(45) 
		
	
	(45) indicates that a return was subsequently received, and after validation the reported information will be added to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's database.
	The proportion of local authorities submitting PIE returns by closedown has improved from around 90 per cent. two years ago to around 95 per cent. in the past two quarters. The measures taken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to encourage authorities to submit P1E returns have been three-fold:
	1. Authorities receive three-emailed reminders before, on and after the due submission date (which is three weeks after the end of each quarter), and by regular telephone calls in the weeks prior to final closedown. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Interform system, which enables authorities to submit returns electronically, has made the process more efficient and currently around 93 per cent. of authorities have chosen this method.
	2. The Housing Data and Statistics Division of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have been conducting regional seminars on the completion of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's housing and planning statistical returns, including the P1E, which have been well attended.
	3. The timely submission of a P1E return is now also one of the conditions for receipt of homelessness grant.

Homeless Households

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average length of time a homeless household in temporary accommodation in each Government Office Region had to wait before being made an offer of a permanent (a) one-bed, (b) two-bed, (c) three-bed and (d) four-bed or more home in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2004.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported by local authorities on their activities under homelessness legislation includes a breakdown of time, by broad time-bands, spent by households in temporary accommodation prior to the authorities' duty coming to an end. This specific information was collected for the first time with effect from the March quarter of 1997, and consequently data quality for this period may be less robust than for later periods. Estimates for latest comparable dates in 1997 and 2004 are tabled as follows.
	
		Average length of stay (in days) by homeless households(46) in all forms of temporary accommodation, by Government Office Region
		
			  31 March 1997 31 March 2004 
		
		
			 North East 91 170 
			 North West 91 164 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 91 239 
			 East Midlands 93 181 
			 West Midlands 97 116 
			 Eastern 102 254 
			 London 91 381 
			 South East 110 298 
			 South West 174 323 
			 England 98 267 
		
	
	(46) Households that, during the quarter, left accommodation provided by local authorities under homelessness legislation.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Homeless People

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people have been homeless in (a) Lancashire, broken down by district and (b) the North West in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: Information collected about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is in respect of households, rather than persons. A summary of available information reported by each local authority in Lancashire about the number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and corresponding estimates for the North West Government Office region, is tabled as follows:
	
		Households accepted as homeless(47)
		
			 Unitary/District Authority 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 224 332 376 
			 Blackpool UA 126 159 235 
			 Burnley 328 290 224 
			 Chorley 127 118 187 
			 Fylde (48)17 14 (48)28 
			 Hyndburn 187 232 288 
			 Lancaster 268 364 431 
			 Pendle 69 68 154 
			 Preston (48)74 172 308 
			 Ribble Valley 31 51 78 
			 Rossendale 225 244 175 
			 South Ribble 224 232 312 
			 West Lancashire 78 87 68 
			 Wyre 121 98 122 
			 All Lancashire authorities 2,099 2,461 2,986 
			 North West GO Region 13,280 15,020 18,010 
		
	
	Notes:
	(47) Households eligible under homelessness legislation and found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category.
	(48) Indicates three quarters reported.
	Note:
	Regional totals include estimates for partial or non-response.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Crosby since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to his reply, 16 March 2004, Official Report, c. 219W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Sefton's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 112 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long term improvement.

Housing

Neil Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Wigan since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 5 May 2004, Official Report, c. 1601W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Wigan's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 566 per cent. Wigan and Leigh Housing, an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), was set up on 1 April 2002 to manage and maintain council homes on behalf of Wigan council.

Housing

Joe Benton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Bootle since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 30 April 2004, Official Report, c. 1331W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Sefton's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 112 per cent. and have been supplemented by the announcement of £86 million to be made available to the Merseyside Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, NewHeartlands, between 2003–04 and 2005–06. In addition to this, there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Housing

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Heywood and Middleton since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 27 April 2004, Official Report, c. 880W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Rochdale's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 352 per cent., and have been supplemented by the announcement of £53.5 million to be made available to the Oldham/Rochdale Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06.

Housing

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the level of council funding for housing on the residents of Manchester, Gorton since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 26 April 2004, Official Report, c. 787W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Manchester's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 119 per cent., and have been supplemented by the announcement of £125 million to be made available to the Manchester/Salford Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Housing

Michael Meacher: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Oldham, West and Royton since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to the reply, 5 May 2004, Official Report, c. 1602W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Oldham's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 331 per cent. following the creation of First Choice Homes Oldham, an Arms Length Management Organisation which manages and maintains council properties on behalf of Oldham council. These allocations have been supplemented by the announcement of £53.5 million to be made available to the Oldham/Rochdale Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06.

Housing

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his assessment of how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of West Lancashire since 1997.

Keith Hill: pursuant to my reply, 10 May 2004, Official Report, c. 103W
	Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. West Lancashire's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 204 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there has been support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West that has helped the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long term improvement.
	16 local authorities in the North West have transferred all their stock, and five local authorities have transferred part of their stock. This has unlocked £1,739 million in private finance, of which £553 million has gone to local authorities in capital receipts, with the remaining £1,186 million going directly into renovating and maintaining the transferred properties. Four local authorities have schemes on the programme that have not yet transferred, three of which have had positive ballot results. Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Hyndburn, Macclesfield and West Lancashire have been granted places on the 2004 programme.

London Housing Board

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the expenditure of the London Housing Board has been since its foundation; and if he will list the projects which it has funded.

Keith Hill: The role of the London Housing Board is to prepare a Regional Housing Strategy and advise Ministers on strategic housing investment priorities in London. Following recommendations from the London Housing Board, London will receive £2.1 billion for housing in the region over the two years 2004–05 and 2005–06.
	
		Table 1: London Regional Housing Pot -- £ million
		
			  2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme(49) (including for key workers) 736.6 (177) 757.6 (194) 
			 Local Authorities Allocation(50) 209.1 215.2 
			 Discretionary Pot for Innovative Local Schemes Delivering New Supply (See Table 2) 39.8 28.6 
			 Discretionary Pot for Private Sector Renewal (See Table 3) 10.9 11.1 
			 Discretionary Pot for Local Authority Regeneration Schemes (See Table 4) 42.6 58.5 
		
	
	(49) Funding allocated, via the Housing Corporation, to housing associations to provide homes for rent or low cost home ownership through both new build and acquisition and refurbishment.
	(50) Capital allocation to local authorities to support housing capital investment and which is not project specific.
	
		Table 2: Innovative Local Schemes -- £000
		
			 Local Authority  Housing Association  Scheme 2004–05 and 2005–06 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham East Thames Housing Group Axe Street 1,250 
			 Brent Paddington Churches HA Donnington Court 2,149 
			 Croydon Metropolitan HT Croydon Garages group A 606 
			 Enfield Christian A Enfield Salisbury School Keyworker 515 
			 Hackney Southern Housing Group Millennium Plus at the Nightingale 4,456 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Threshold Housing and Support Westway Beacons 15,430 
			 Haringey Solon CHS Ivatts Way 1,175 
			 Islington The Guinness Trust Hornsey Road Baths 6,770 
			 Kingston upon Thames Town and Country Group Cocks Crescent New Maiden 6,000 
			 Lambeth London & Quadrant HT Penzance House 1,600 
			 Merton Presentation HA Birnam House, 9 Langley Road 525 
			 Merton Wandle HA Merton HRA Sites Phase 1 3,975 
			 Newham Tower Homes Limited Greengate House 6,160 
			 Newham Toynbee HA Newham CPO 1,860 
			 Southwark Presentation HA 41–75 Consort Road 5,781 
			 Southwark Hexagon Dog Kennel Hill School 1,376 
			 Tower Hamlets Swan Housing Association Crossways Phase 1 8,490 
			 Westminster Tower Homes Limited Frampton Street 251 
		
	
	
		Table 3: Private sector renewal -- £000
		
			   Sub Region   Scheme Allocation 2004–05 and 2005–06 
		
		
			 East Decent Homes for Vulnerable People 2,000 
			 East Homes from Redundant Shops 2,500 
			 North Supply Scheme 3,500 
			 South East Healthy Homes 1,000 
			 South East Renewal Loan fund 2,000 
			 South East Coldblasters 1,000 
			 South West Universal Coldblasters 2,000 
			 South West Empty Homes 2,000 
			 West Empty Property Website 345 
			 West Heatstreets 3,655 
			 Pan-London Houseproud 830 
			 Pan-London Landlord Accreditation 1,170 
		
	
	
		Table 4: Local Authority Regeneration -- £000
		
			   Local Authority   Scheme Allocation 2004–05 and 2005–06 
		
		
			 Barnet Stonegrove and Spur Road 2,981 
			 Brent South Kilburn Regeneration 9,850 
			 Bromley Ramsden Regeneration 2,679 
			 Camden Gospel Oak 2,926 
			 Camden Ampthill Square Estate 5,876 
			 Ealing South Acton Estate 7,745 
			 Greenwich Solar Powered Hot Water 495 
			 Greenwich Ravens Way, Kidbrooke 1,979 
			 Hillingdon Romney Parade 183 
			 Hounslow Ivybridge Estate 5,914 
			 Hounslow Convent Way 2,483 
			 Islington Tollington Estate 7,911 
			 Kensington and  Chelsea Redcliffe Square 495 
			 Kensington and  Chelsea Finborough Road and Edith Grove 445 
			 Lambeth Ethelred Estate (low rise) 5,373 
			 Lewisham Honor Oak Estate 8,328 
			 Merton Safer Homes 81 
			 Merton Home Energy for life 178 
			 Newham Brooks Road and Plaistow Borth Estate 1,978 
			 Southwark Aylesbury Estate 11,398 
			 Southwark Four Squares Estate 2,318 
			 Sutton Durand Estate 2,473 
			 Tower Hamlets Tarling East Estate 1,029 
			 Tower Hamlets Crossways Estate 5,345 
			 Waltham Forest Bisterne Avenue and St. Andrews Court 1,933 
			 Westminster Warwick Towers 8,764

Ordnance Survey

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money Ordnance Survey has received in the last four financial years in Government (a) grants and (b) mapping contracts; and whether Ordnance Survey had to compete for the contracts.

Yvette Cooper: Ordnance Survey does not receive any Government grants. As a Government Department and Trading Fund, Ordnance Survey earns its revenues from commercial licences, commercial services and product sales. This revenue includes transactions with Government through inter Crown agreements including services delivered through the National Interest Mapping Service Agreement and the Pan Government Agreement. Ordnance Survey income is reported in its Annual Reports.

Land Prices (Essex)

Alan Hurst: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average price was of land per hectare with planning permission to build housing in each district council area in Essex in 2003.

Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Planning Appeals

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account is taken of the financial viability of the applicant in planning appeals considered by his Department.

Keith Hill: All planning appeals are determined on their planning merits, and an applicant's financial viability is not normally a material planning consideration. However, the viability of an existing or proposed enterprise may be a relevant consideration in some cases.

Postal Ballots

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who will meet the costs of reprinting postal ballot papers for the elections on 10 June.

Nick Raynsford: Returning officers have the contractual relationships with suppliers of ballot packs. To the extent that their suppliers are not liable for reprinting costs, regional and local returning officers will be able to claim re-imbursement from Government for services properly rendered, or expenses properly incurred, for or in connection with the European election. Insofar as the local elections in principal areas or parishes within the pilot regions are concerned, returning officers will be able to claim "local election pilot expenditure" from Government. That will include any expenditure which is apportioned to the local election, which exceeds the expenditure which would have been incurred if the region had not been one of the pilot regions.

Postal Ballots

Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the total cost of the all-postal ballots for the elections to be held on 10 June.

Nick Raynsford: The Government's current estimate of the total cost of the ballots in the four all-postal pilot regions is £23.8 million.

Rural Exceptions Sites

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he expects to make an announcement on new PPG3, with particular reference to rural exceptions sites;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the (a) National Association of Local Councils, (b) rural community councils and (c) individual parish and town councils on the impact of building on rural exceptions sites.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is finalising the proposed updates to PPG3 (Housing) titled 'Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing' and 'Supporting the delivery of new housing' in the light of the responses to the consultation exercise undertaken last year. Our aim is to publish the updates to PPG3 in the autumn, including the approach to planning for mixed communities in rural areas. Any further revisions to PPG3 to take account of the recommendations of the Barker review of housing supply will be completed in 2005.
	Eight responses were received from rural community councils and parish councils to 'Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing'. Of the five responses received from rural community councils, four were supportive of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals in the update for a 100 per cent. affordable housing allocation policy, but also asked that the existing rural exceptions policy should be retained. The other was opposed to the proposed allocation policy, preferring a retention of the existing policy.
	Three responses were received from parish councils. One was supportive of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals, while another was opposed to it, preferring a retention of the existing policy. The third parish council did not register any comments on that particular aspect of the proposals. Formal representations were not received from the National Association of Local Council or any town councils. We will take into account all of the responses it received to the consultation exercise, including those from the rural community and parish councils, in finalising the PPG3 update.

Mobile Phone Masts

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the planning guidelines on mobile phone masts laid down by the Government in PPG8—Telecommunications 2001 state that authorities should respond positively to proposals for telecommunications development, with particular reference to their application to locations usually subject to policies of restraint.

Yvette Cooper: The reasons for the guidelines are set out in PPG8 itself. PPG8 states that:
	"The aim of telecommunications policy is to ensure that people have a choice as to who provides their telecommunications service, a wider range of services from -which to choose and equitable access to the latest technologies as they become available.
	The Government places great emphasis on its well-established national polices for the protection of the countryside and urban areas—in particular the National Parks (Including the Broads and New Forest), Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, the Green Belts, the Heritage Coast and areas and buildings of architectural or historic importance.
	While local planning authorities are encouraged to respond positively to telecommunications development proposals they should take account of the advice on the protection of urban and rural areas in other planning policy guidance notes."

Mobile Phone Masts

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the planning guidelines on mobile phone masts laid down by the Government in PPG8—Telecommunications 2001 state that provided a proposal meets the International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation guidelines for public exposure, it should not be necessary for a local planning authority to consider further the health aspects and concerns about them.

Yvette Cooper: The Government's advice is based on the expert opinion of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP). In their report published in May 2000 they recommended that, as a precautionary approach, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for public exposure be adopted for use in the UK.

HEALTH

Suicide Attempts (Adolescents)

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of attempted suicides of adolescent (a) males and (b) females in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to estimate numbers of attempted suicides. However, the number of episodes in national health service hospitals with a primary diagnosis of injury and poisoning, and a cause of self inflicted injury in England by age group and gender are shown in the table.
	
		Finished consultant episodes with primary diagnosis of injury or poisoning and a cause of self inflicted injury, by age group and sex, 1997–98 to 2002–03 NHS hospitals, England
		
			  Under 16 16–18 
			  Male Female All persons Male Female All persons 
		
		
			 2002–03 1,129 5,634 6,763 1,485 3,897 5,382 
			 2001–02 1,219 5,148 6,368 1,692 4,182 5,874 
			 2000–01 1,127 4,820 5,974 1,861 4,296 6,159 
			 1999–2000 1,218 4,635 5,863 1,867 4,096 5,969 
			 1998–99 1,111 4,206 5,318 2,155 4,212 6,371 
			 1997–98 1,180 4,913 6,126 2,360 4,729 7,160 
		
	
	
		
			  19 or over All ages 
			  Male Female All persons Male Female All persons 
		
		
			 2002–03 26,675 31,400 58,086 29,355 40,967 70,336 
			 2001–02 28,078 32,733 60,821 31,107 42,184 73,377 
			 2000–01 30,106 33,250 63,367 33,172 42,414 75,630 
			 1999–2000 31,249 33,586 64,895 34,392 42,361 76,833 
			 1998–1999 32,816 33,168 66,020 36,153 41,612 77,811 
			 1997–98 34,330 35,434 70,187 37,951 45,110 83,590 
		
	
	Notes:
	Unknown age or sex
	All persons and All ages totals may not agree with the sum of age or sex breakdown figures due to episodes where age and/or sex of patient is unknown.
	Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)
	An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. IDCD-10 codes SOO-T98 have been used in his analysis.
	Cause Code
	The cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Cause codes X60-X84 have been used for this analysis.
	Grossing
	Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Alcohol-related Illness

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been treated for alcohol-related accidents or illnesses at Chorley Hospital in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is collected on a national health service trust basis. The table shows information for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which was formed in 2002 and its predecessor bodies.
	
		Count of finished admissions, 1998–99 to 2002–03: Diagnosis of "alcohol-related accidents"—Selected health authorities of treatment by provider of treatment NHS hospitals, England
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 100 0 84 97 — 
			 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 192 379 292 377 — 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust — —  — 552 
		
	
	
		Count of finished admissions, 1998–99 to 2002–03: Diagnosis of "alcohol-related illnesses"—Selected health authorities of treatment by provider of treatment NHS hospitals, England
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 165 — 128 160 — 
			 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 198 411 231 224 — 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust — — — — 383 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	*ICD-10 codes = "alcohol related accidents" as advised by NHSIA Clinical Coding Service
	Primary Diagnosis
	SOO-T74 Injuries (excludes certain cause of injury)
	Secondary Diagnosis
	F10.—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	R78.0 Finding of alcohol in blood
	Y90.—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level
	Y91.—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	1999–2000 figures
	A combined return for the two trusts was made in 1999–2000.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

Chlamydia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 5 May 2004, Official Report, column 1612W, on chlamydia, if he will publish the advice of the National Screening Committee giving the reasons for the phased introduction of nationwide chlamydia screening.

Melanie Johnson: This advice is not contained in the United Kingdom national screening committee's (NSC) published reports to date. The NSC endorsed the findings of the evaluation of the chlamydia screening pilot, which is published on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk. One of the recommendations was that the immediate introduction of a complete national programme was not viable, but a phased introduction was recommended instead. Dr. Muir Gray, programme director of the NSC, discussed the phased approach to the introduction of screening programmes in his witness statement to the Health Select Committee on 9 January 2003,—"Health Committee, Third Report of Session 2002–03, volume ii: oral and written evidence"—which is available in the Library.

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants and what percentage of the total civil service work force in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire.

Rosie Winterton: The Lyons report gives details of the Department's relocations plans, which are being taken forward and refined as part of the spending review. The Government will announce proposals for implementing and monitoring the dispersal plans in the review. The Department will then decide on its dispersal strategy in light of its business needs and priorities.

Cluster Headaches

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the impact of the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians on domiciliary oxygen services on cluster headache sufferers; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 22 June 2004
	Representations have been received from the organisations Headache UK and Ouch (Organisation for the Understanding of Cluster Headaches) about the changes to the domiciliary oxygen service which will be introduced next year. Patients suffering from cluster headaches will continue to be able to receive the oxygen service which they need.

Dentistry

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists per 10,000 head of population there have been in each of the past 25 years; and what the projection is for the next five years.

Rosie Winterton: The number of national health service dentists (headcount) per 10,000 population in England is shown in the table for September in each of the years 1979 to 2003.
	NHS dentists cover dentists working in the general dental service (GDS), hospital dental service, community dental service and personal dental service (PDS).
	Dentist working in more than one dental service are included in each service apart from dentists working in both PDS and GDS who are counted in the GDS only.
	
		Number of NHS dentists per 10,000 population at 30 September each year
		
			 England Number 
		
		
			 1979 3.43 
			 1980 3.48 
			 1981 3.57 
			 1982 3.66 
			 1983 3.74 
			 1984 3.82 
			 1985 3.87 
			 1986 3.89 
			 1987 3.89 
			 1988 3.93 
			 1989 3.98 
			 1990 3.98 
			 1991 3.95 
			 1992 3.94 
			 1993 4.00 
			 1994 3.99 
			 1995 4.01 
			 1996 4.09 
			 1997 4.17 
			 1998 4.27 
			 1999 4.37 
			 2000 4.43 
			 2001 4.53 
			 2002 4.58 
			 2003 4.66

Dentistry

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce free dental care for pensioners; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 June 2004
	There are no plans to introduce free dental care for pensioners. It is the Department's policy to offer help with health costs based upon a person's income.

Departmental Policy (Stroud)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Stroud constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Stroud constituency.

Rosie Winterton: The Government has put in place a programme of National Health Service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Stroud constituency.
	For example:
	At the end of March 2004, the number of people waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment within Cotswold and Vale Primary Care Trust (PCT) has fallen to zero, from 113 in June 2002.
	At the end of March 2004, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for outpatient treatment within Cotswold and Vale PCT has fallen to 83, from 396 in June 2002.
	In 2002, at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, 87.1 per cent., of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for December 2003 show an improvement to 94.2 per cent.
	Between September 2002 and September 2003, the number of consultants at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust has increased from 205 to 226. The number of nurses increased from 1,928 to 2,152.
	In September 2002, figures show 157 general practitioners within Cotswold and Vale PCT. Figures for December 2003 show an increase to 163.
	Figures for December 2003 show that all patients within Cotswold and Vale PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a primary care professional within two working days.
	In the Stroud local authority area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen to 163.5 in 2002, from 168.1 in 1997.
	In the Stroud local authority area, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen to 129 in 2002, from 132 in 1997.
	Cotswold & Vale PCT's allocation has risen to £173.6 million for 2004–05; a cash increase of 8.9 per cent..
	£30 million investment in a private finance initiative redevelopment at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital to provide modern, state of the art health care facilities, anticipated to open in Autumn 2004.
	£8.5 million invested in four new operating theatres and oral and maxillofacial laboratory and a medical engineering department at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

Diabetes

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people with diabetes require animal insulin; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what research his Department has evaluated on the suitability of synthetic insulin for all diabetics in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many patients he estimates are more suited to animal insulin and have experienced problems with synthetic insulin; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All authorised insulins, whether human (synthetic) insulin or animal insulin, have been demonstrated to be efficacious in people with diabetes mellitus. As part of the licensing approval process for any medicinal product, including insulins, the applicant has to provide evidence that the product meets appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy. This will include clinical trial data in patients with diabetes. The decision to use one or other of the insulins rests with the physician in consultation with the patient.
	The Committee on Safety of Medicines and its sub-committee on pharmacovigilance (SCOP) has kept the safety of synthetic (human) insulins under close review and has considered the available data on a number of occasions. Most recently in 2002, the SCOP considered the findings of an independent review of controlled clinical trial data by the Cochrane collaboration. The conclusions of the Cochrane review were that there is no difference in the incidence of adverse events between patients on synthetic insulin compared with patients on animal insulins. The SCOP confirmed its previous advice that there is no clear evidence of safety problem specific to human insulin. However, the issue will be reviewed again should further information become available.
	Data on the number of people using these insulins is not collected. However, the table shows the number of prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England, in 2003.
	
		Number of prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England 2003 
		
			  Number (thousand) 
		
		
			 Highly purified animal insulin 181.0 
			 Human sequence (GM Insulin) 3,654.3 
			 All Insulins 3,835.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data is from the Prescription Cost Analysis system, which covers all prescription items that are dispensed in the community in England. This does not include drugs dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
	2. Insulins are those defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 6.1.1, "Insulins". Insulin drugs have been grouped into highly purified animal and human sequence (GM) insulin in line with the BNF.
	3. Doctors write prescriptions on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.

Embryology

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are directly involved in embryonic stemcell research; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority who are connected to centres carrying out embryonic stem cell research are:
	Professor David Barlow.
	Professor Christopher Barratt.
	Professor Peter Braude.
	Professor lain Cameron.

Food Labelling

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with farmers about food labelling requirements.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 24 June 2004
	Food labelling rules are agreed at European Union level. The Food Standards Agency consults widely with interested parties, including groups such as the National Farmers Union, both during negotiations and implementation of legislative measures, as well as in drawing up guidance for industry.

Food Supplements

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has received on the number of dossiers being prepared by industry for submission to the European Food Safety Authority in relation to nutrients and nutrient sources currently permitted for use in the United Kingdom but omitted from the lists of permitted nutrients and nutrient sources appended to the Food Supplements Directive and the Food Supplements (England) Regulations; what estimate he has made of the cost of producing such dossiers; and if he will make financial assistance available to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with the production of such dossiers.

Melanie Johnson: Article 4 (6) of Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements requires that in the case of vitamin and mineral sources in food supplements on the market in the community on 12 July 2002 but absent from Annex II of the Directive, dossiers supporting continued use after 1 August 2005 must be submitted to the European Commission no later than 12 July 2005.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has not received any such dossiers from the United Kingdom food supplement industry. The FSA understands, however, that the industry is in the process of compiling a small number of dossiers.
	The costs of compiling and submitting safety dossiers in support of ingredients not on the positive lists are difficult to estimate. Discussions between representatives of the European Food Safety Authority and industry representatives last October indicated that, in many cases, dossier costs are likely to be significantly lower than previously estimated by industry.
	The Government will not provide financial assistance for the production or submission of dossiers. Officials at the FSA have offered to comment on dossiers before submission to the Commission provided such requests are co-ordinated and are made in good time.

Health Care Forums

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Healthcare on the decision to cap forum membership at an average of 10 members per forum.

Rosie Winterton: As an independent organisation, it was necessary for the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) to formally consult the Department on its decision to limit the number of members of patients' forums. Through regular meetings with the CPPIH, we have been made aware of its decision and future plans.

Health Expenditure (Kent and Medway)

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the expenditure per weighted head of population was in the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority area in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average public expenditure on health per head of population in Kent and Medway, other than through the Strategic Health Authority, in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Information relating to the expenditure per weighted head of population for the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority area is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure per weighted head of population for the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority area
		
			  £ per head 
		
		
			 1997–98 590.54 
			 1998–99 640.42 
			 1999–2000 766.79 
			 2000–01 795.96 
			 2001–02 852.31 
			 2002–03 914.67 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure is taken from audited health authority accounts and primary care trust summarisation schedules which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total expenditure by the relevant health authorities for 1997–98 to 2002–03, and the commissioner costs of the primary care trusts for 2000–01 to 2002–03. Figures are given per weighted head of population.
	2. Allocations per weighted head of population provide a much more reliable measure to identify differences between funding of health authorities.
	3. The total national health service expenditure cannot be identified by health authority area because the majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the individual health authority accounts or primary care trust summarisation schedules and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board. An element of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by health authorities or primary care trusts.
	4. In many health authorities there are factors which distort the expenditure per head. These include:
	the health authority acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
	asset revaluations in NHS trusts being funded through health authorities or primary care trusts.
	For these reasons expenditure per head cannot be compared reliably between health authorities or between different years.
	Sources:
	Health authority audited accounts 1997–98.
	Health authority audited summarisation forms 1998–99 to 2001–02.
	Strategic health authority audited summarisation forms 2002–03.
	Primary Care Trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01 to 2002–03.
	Weighted health authority population figures 1997–98 to 2002–03.

Health Services (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been to NHS waiting list times in the last seven years for the residents of Rochdale.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the number of patients waiting for admission to the Pennine Acute Hospitals national health service Trust, including its predecessor organisations, each year since 1997.
	
		Patients waiting for elective inpatient admission
		
			   Patients waiting for admission by months waiting 
			 NHS Trust Total number of patients waiting for admission Less than three months Three to five months Six to eight months Nine to 11 months 12 to 14 months 15 to 17 months 18 plus months 
		
		
			 March 1997 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 8,436 3,837 2,293 1,339 967 — — — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,464 2,472 868 577 374 173 — — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 5,787 2,961 1,506 708 427 157 22 6 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 2,223 1,471 399 196 120 37 — — 
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 9,894 5,470 2,203 1,252 793 176 — — 
			  
			 March 1998 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 8,332 3,954 1,976 1,650 736 16 — — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,684 2,702 924 581 305 132 40 — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 6,002 2,911 1,253 827 528 308 175 — 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 2,437 1,581 375 251 128 91 11 — 
			  
			 March 1999 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 7,338 4,156 1,904 895 315 67 1 — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,168 2,351 873 484 257 167 36 — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 4,699 3,342 737 369 148 76 27 — 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 2,153 1,210 367 240 127 158 51 — 
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 9,657 5,462 1,976 1,123 585 413 98 — 
			  
			 March 2000 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 6,484 4,012 1,364 682 371 50 5 — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,032 2,102 841 568 330 130 61 — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 4,262 3,131 653 230 150 78 20 — 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 2,103 1,218 341 219 164 105 56 — 
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 9,237 5,066 1,866 1,107 698 341 159 — 
			  
			 March 2001 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 6,427 4,092 1,478 601 213 43 — — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,039 2,456 876 397 249 45 16 — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 4,016 2,884 680 303 119 27 3 — 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 1,916 1,250 367 181 118 — — — 
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 8,906 5,348 1,831 949 558 169 51 — 
			 March 2002 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 6,297 3,830 1,631 611 225 — — — 
			 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4,530 2,675 1,029 527 254 45 — — 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 4,008 2,804 795 265 114 30 — — 
			 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 2,045 1,411 336 218 78 2 — — 
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 9,592 5,745 2,095 1,079 550 123 — — 
			  
			 March 2003 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 15,872 10,226 3,607 1,575 464 — — — 
			 Rochdale PCT 3,626 2,194 886 404 142 — — — 
			  
			 March 2004 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 15,470 10,249 3,819 1,402 — — — — 
			 Rochdale PCT 3,446 2,372 804 270 — — — — 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH07 and monthly monitoring.

Mental Health

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been detained in hospital and given compulsory treatment under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each year that it has been in force.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983. A patient can be detained more than once during a year: The Department does not collect data in relation to the number of detained patients who were given compulsory treatment.
	
		Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983, on admission and subsequent to admission, of patients in national health service facilities (including high security psychiatric hospitals), in England, 1984 to 2003
		
			  Total detentions (on admission and subsequent to admission) in NHS facilities 
		
		
			 1984 13,977 
			 1985 14,909 
			 1986 14,725 
			 1987–88 24,811 
			 1988–89 27,151 
			 1989–90 27,497 
			 1990–91 30,037 
			 1991–92 32,794 
			 1992–93 34,311 
			 1993–94 37,092 
			 1994–95 40,234 
			 1995–96 41,628 
			 1996–97 40,516 
			 1997–98 43,291 
			 1998–99 46,003 
			 1999–2000 45,546 
			 2000–01 45,654 
			 2001–02 45,563 
			 2002–03 45,064 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures exclude previous legislation (fifth schedule) and other Acts.
	2. Data for 1984 to 1986 were collected by calendar year.
	3. A patient may be detained more than once.
	4. Data for patients detained subsequent to admission were not collected in respect of high security psychiatric hospitals prior to 1996–97 and in respect of other NHS facilities prior to 1987–88.
	Source:
	Department of Health statistics division.

Myeloma

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research the Government has undertaken on the causes of myeloma.

Melanie Johnson: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC). MRC expenditure on research on myeloma is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Funding (£) 
		
		
			 1998–99 410,000 
			 1 999–2000 390,000 
			 2000–01 360,000 
			 2001–02 420,000 
			 2002–03 (51)— 
		
	
	(51) Not available
	The MRC is not currently funding research into the causes of myeloma. It has, however, supported two major myeloma studies: Myeloma VII and Myeloma VIII (the figures in the table do not include spend on these) and has awarded £1 million to the Myeloma IX trial involving 1,600 patients. This trial will evaluate a number of different therapies and modalities of treatment used and being developed for myeloma, to provide information on their impact on response rates, survival and quality of life.
	The MRC funds a considerable amount of basic underpinning research that is excluded from site-specific figures. In addition, research classified as undertaken in one site may well have implications for another.

Myeloma

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people in the UK diagnosed with myeloma entered clinical trials in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: Information in the form requested is available in respect of publicly funded trials from the date of the establishment of the national cancer research network (NCRN) in 2001 and is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage of myeloma patients entered into NCRN clinical trials 
		
		
			 2001–02 1.2 
			 2002–03(52) Nil 
			 2003–04(53) 10.3 
		
	
	(52) Figures for this year and for 2001–02 are for England only.
	(53) UK.
	The figures reflect the pattern of recruitment of patients to a series of Medical Research Council funded myeloma studies. One, the myeloma VIII trial, had accrued the required number of patients by March 2002. Its successor, myeloma IX, opened in May 2003.

NHS (Language Services)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what security arrangements have been made in relation to NHS language provision; and whether all NHS Direct translators and interpreters will be subject in future to a police check by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Rosie Winterton: The NHS Direct contract provides only for telephone, not face-to-face, interpretation and interpreters will be working in an anonymous environment. In keeping with child protection guidance, interpreters will be subject to checks by the Criminal Records Bureau. Any national health service trusts using face-to-face interpreting services outside of this contract will need to use their own discretion on this matter.

NHS (Language Services)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to support the role that language services play in facilitating access to NHS services.

Melanie Johnson: The Department is committed to supporting the provision of language services as part of the overall drive to promote equity of access to national health service services.
	The commitment to provide a national translation and interpreting service through NHS Direct was outlined in the NHS Plan. In addition to this, the Department has undertaken a series of initiatives to further improvements in language support for patients for whom English is not a first language.
	In March this year, NHS Direct acquired a new national contract for an interpreting and translation service which provides access for all NHS organisations to a high quality telephone-based interpretation and translation services including the provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation. NHS services are accessible 24 hours a day. Primary care trusts are able to commission interpreting and translation services from NHS Direct as and when required.
	This new service includes monitoring of languages requested. The scope of the service covers all languages as required. The new NHS Direct commissioning framework will ensure the provision of assured quality standards for both interpreting and translation, as well as a shared and centralised knowledge management system for translated materials. NHS Direct will provide value for money in terms of quality, responsiveness and cost of the service.

NHS Dentistry

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much on average was paid per dentist for NHS dental services in each year since 1992.

Rosie Winterton: The average annual gross payment to dentists in the general dental service (GDS) in England is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Gross income (£) 
		
		
			 1992–93 83,400 
			 1993–94 76,300 
			 1 994–95 79,300 
			 1995–96 79,600 
			 1996–97 79,700 
			 1997–98 79,300 
			 1998–99 82,100 
			 1999–2000 82,100 
			 2000–01 84,500 
			 2001–02 86,300 
			 2002–03 88,100 
			 2003–04 90,900 
		
	
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board
	Salaried dentists are paid on pay scales as set by the doctors' and dentists' review body. Figures for average payments are not available.

NHS Funding (Warrington)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding has been allocated to the NHS in Warrington in each year since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: The information is shown in the tables.
	
		Expenditure on capital additions— purchased -- £000
		
			 Warrington Hospital National Health Service Trust 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Land 171 0 0 0 
			 Buildings, installations and  fittings 773 1,060 1,621 756 
			 Assets under construction 0 0 0 0 
			 Equipment 687 748 1,668 1,860 
			 Total 1,631 1,808 3,289 2,616 
		
	
	
		£000
		
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2001–02 
		
		
			 Land 0 
			 Buildings, installations and fittings 1,750 
			 Assets under construction 0 
			 Equipment 2,327 
			 Total 4,077 
		
	
	
		£000
		
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2002–03 
		
		
			 Land 0 
			 Buildings excluding dwellings 2,380 
			 Dwellings 7 
			 Assets under construction and payments on account 1,545 
			 Plant and machinery 2,165 
			 Transport equipment 0 
			 Information technology 83 
			 Furniture and fittings 22 
			 Total 6,202 
		
	
	Sources:
	Audited summarisation schedules of the Warrington Hospital NHS Trust 1997–98 to 2000–01.
	Audited summarisation schedules of the North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2001–02 and 2002–03.
	The Department made revenue allocations to health authorities (HAs) from 1997–98 to 2002–03 and to primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2003–04. These are shown in table 1.
	
		1. Revenue allocations to North Cheshire HA and Warrington PCT—1997–98 to 2005–06 -- £000
		
			  North Cheshire HA Warrington PCT 
		
		
			 1997–98 145,260 n/a 
			 1998–99 151,836 n/a 
			 1999–2000 201,585 n/a 
			 2000–01 217,660 n/a 
			 2001–02 236,528 n/a 
			 2002–03 261,550 n/a 
			 2003–04 n/a 163,513 
			 2004–05 n/a 178,963 
			 2005–06 n/a 195,266 
		
	
	Note:
	N/a=not applicable.
	The NHS regional offices determined the distribution of NHS capital from 1997–98 to 2002–03. This is shown in table 2.
	
		2. North West region capital planning totals 1997–98 to 2002–03 -- £000
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 150,119 
			 1998–99 136,937 
			 1999–2000 156,369 
			 2000–01 164,778 
			 2001–02 171,373 
			 2002–03 202,521 
		
	
	From 2003–04, the distribution of strategic capital and the access fund is determined by strategic health authorities (SHAs), whilst operational capital is allocated direct to NHS trusts and primary care trusts. This is shown in tables 3 and 4.
	
		3. Cheshire and Merseyside SHA strategic capital and access fund 2003–04 to 2005–06 -- £000
		
			  Strategic Access 
		
		
			 2003–04 37,805 5,603 
			 2004–05 41,940 5,603 
			 2005–06 50,589 5,603 
		
	
	
		4. Operational capital 2003–04 to 2005–06 -- £000
		
			   Warrington PCT North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
		
		
			 2003–04 118 2,403 
			 2004–05 135 2,743 
			 2005–06 153 3,104

NHS Statistics (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time midwives are employed in the NHS in Greater London, broken down by national health service trust; and how many were employed (a) five years ago and (b) 10 years ago.

John Hutton: Information on the number of full-time midwives employed by London national health service trusts and primary care trusts currently, five years ago and in 1997 is shown in the table. Information from 1997 is the earliest available.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in the London Government Office Region by organisation and by nature of contract as at 30 September each specified year
		
			   1997 
			   Total midwives Full-time Part-time Bank/unknown Percentage full-time Percentage part-time 
		
		
			 London  3,460 2,228 872 360 71.9 28.1 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 SNA Redbridge PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 Q06 North East London SHA (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RAL The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital NHS Trust 26 24 2 0 92.3 7.7 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 107 78 14 15 84.8 15.2 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 167 109 40 18 73.2 26.8 
			 RAU Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 48 42 6 0 87.5 12.5 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 156 79 68 9 53.7 46.3 
			 RAZ The St. Helier NHS Trust 156 84 50 22 62.7 37.3 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 101 56 22 23 71.8 28.2 
			 RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust 135 73 22 40 76.8 23.2 
			 RDF Forest Healthcare NHS Trust 110 67 42 1 61.5 38.5 
			 RF4 Barking. Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 104 53 31 20 63.1 36.9 
			 RFZ Northwick Park St. Marks NHS Trust 98 67 31 0 68.4 31.6 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 88 62 26 0 70.5 29.5 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 94 65 29 0 69.1 30.9 
			 RG4 Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust 103 76 27 0 73.8 26.2 
			 RG7 Havering Hospitals NHS Trust 141 81 45 15 64.3 35.7 
			 R69 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 135 69 30 36 69.7 30.3 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 159 54 76 29 41.5 58.5 
			 RHG Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust 2 2 0 0 100.0 0.0 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 176 131 18 27 87.9 12.1 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 53 38 15 0 71.7 28.3 
			 RJ5 St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust 81 53 28 0 65.4 34.6 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 157 97 60 0 61.8 38.2 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 116 92 24 0 79.3 20.7 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Trust 151 93 21 37 81.6 18.4 
			 RKE Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 112 75 15 22 83.3 16.7 
			 RNH Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 115 101 14 0 87.8 12.2 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust 90 52 38 0 57.8 42.2 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 129 103 14 12 88.0 12.0 
			 RQN The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 46 42 4 0 91.3 8.7 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust 156 109 30 17 78.4 21.6 
			 RRG Tower Hamlets Healthcare NHS Trust 127 80 30 17 72.7 27.3 
			 RRH Newham Community NHS Trust 1 1 0 0 100.0 0.0 
			 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 20 20 0 0 100.0 0.0 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
		
	
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in the London Government Office Region by organisation and by nature of contract as at 30 September each specified year
		
			   1998 
			   Total midwives Full-time Part-time Bank/unknown Percentage full-time Percentage part-time 
		
		
			 London  3,515 2,146 857 512 61.1 24.4 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 SNA Redbridge PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 Q06 North East London SHA (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RAL The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital NHS Trust 25 22 3 0 88.0 12.0 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 111 76 20 15 68.5 18.0 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 132 67 41 24 50.8 31.1 
			 RAU Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 57 46 3 8 80.7 5.3 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 176 72 70 34 40.9 39.8 
			 RAZ The St. Helier NHS Trust 164 85 54 25 51.8 32.9 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 80 55 25 0 68.8 31.3 
			 RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust 140 68 21 51 48.6 15.0 
			 RDF Forest Healthcare NHS Trust 116 79 37 0 68.1 31.9 
			 RF4 Barking. Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 101 53 32 16 52.5 31.7 
			 RFZ Northwick Park St. Marks NHS Trust 106 66 31 9 62.3 29.2 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 109 79 30 0 72.5 27.5 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 97 64 33 0 66.0 34.0 
			 RG4 Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust 111 82 29 0 73.9 26.1 
			 RG7 Havering Hospitals NHS Trust 140 86 44 10 61.4 31.4 
			 R69 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 120 66 33 21 55.0 27.5 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 162 53 80 29 32.7 49.4 
			 RHG Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 235 136 24 75 57.9 10.2 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 99 79 14 6 79.8 14.1 
			 RJ5 St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust 84 58 26 0 69.0 31.0 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 44 29 15 0 85.9 34.1 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 119 94 25 0 79.0 21.0 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Trust 115 73 20 22 63.5 17.4 
			 RKE Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 103 61 17 25 59.2 16.5 
			 RNH Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 141 103 14 24 73.0 9.9 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust 109 50 35 24 45.9 32.1 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 149 108 20 21 72.5 13.4 
			 RQN The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 71 29 7 35 40.8 9.9 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust 130 107 23 0 82.3 17.7 
			 RRG Tower Hamlets Healthcare NHS Trust 139 74 30 35 53.2 21.6 
			 RRH Newham Community NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 30 25 1 3 86.7 3.3 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
		
	
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in the London Government Office Region by organisation and by nature of contract as at 30 September each specified year
		
			   1999 
			   Total midwives Full-time Part-time Bank/unknown Percentage full-time Percentage part-time 
		
		
			 London  3,703 2,065 932 708 68.9 31.1 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 SNA Redbridge PCT (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 Q06 North East London SHA (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RAL The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital NHS Trust 50 37 6 7 86.0 14.0 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 97 71 15 11 82.6 17.4 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 105 60 43 2 58.3 41.7 
			 RAU Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 177 69 75 33 47.9 52.1 
			 RAZ The St. Helier NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 92 51 24 17 68.0 32.0 
			 RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RDF Forest Healthcare NHS Trust 117 77 40 0 65.8 34.2 
			 RF4 Barking. Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 88 49 34 5 59.0 41.0 
			 RFZ Northwick Park St. Marks NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 19 10 5 4 66.7 33.3 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 89 55 34 0 61.8 38.2 
			 RG4 Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust 99 56 34 0 65.7 34.3 
			 RG7 Havering Hospitals NHS Trust 132 87 42 3 67.4 32.6 
			 R69 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 161 52 80 29 39.4 60.6 
			 RHG Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 189 141 21 27 87.0 13.0 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 102 80 12 10 87.0 13.0 
			 RJ5 St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust 87 58 29 0 66.7 33.3 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 200 65 40 95 61.9 38.1 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 120 95 25 0 79.2 20.8 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Trust 132 83 27 22 75.5 24.5 
			 RKE Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 137 68 19 50 78.2 21.8 
			 RNH Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 157 92 17 48 84.4 15.6 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust 122 46 28 48 62.2 37.8 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 152 98 32 22 75.4 24.6 
			 RQN The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 150 32 3 115 91.4 8.6 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust 121 95 26 0 78.5 21.5 
			 RRG Tower Hamlets Healthcare NHS Trust 137 77 24 36 76.2 23.8 
			 RRH Newham Community NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 35 30 5 0 85.7 14.3 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 158 9935 24 73.9 26.1  
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 222 125 63 34 66.5 33.5 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 256 98 94 64 51.0 49.0 
		
	
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in the London Government Office Region by organisation and by nature of contract as at 30 September each specified year
		
			   2003 
			   Total midwives Full-time Part-time Bank/unknown Percentage full-time Percentage part-time 
		
		
			 London  3,981 2.020 1,161 800 63.5 36.5 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT 1 0 1 0 0.0 100.0 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 1 0 1 0 0.0 100.0 
			 SNA Redbridge PCT 1 1 0 0 100.0 0.0 
			 Q06 North East London SHA 2 2 0 0 100.0 0.0 
			 RAL The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital NHS Trust 105 64 18 23 78.0 22.0 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 117 72 18 27 80.0 20.0 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 175 49 45 81 52.1 47.9 
			 RAU Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 162 57 55 50 50.9 49.1 
			 RAZ The St. Helier NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 89 43 26 0 62.3 37.7 
			 RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RDF Forest Healthcare NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RF4 Barking. Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 283 147 79 57 65.0 35.0 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 81 37 44 0 45.7 54.3 
			 RFZ Northwick Park St. Marks NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 178 68 33 77 67.3 32.7 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 90 54 36 0 60.0 40.0 
			 RG4 Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RG7 Havering Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 R69 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 156 73 57 26 56.2 43.8 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 161 34 97 30 26.0 74.0 
			 RHG Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 234 162 46 26 77.9 22.1 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 127 59 27 41 68.6 31.4 
			 RJ5 St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust 87 64 23 0 73.6 26.4 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 99 61 38 0 61.6 38.4 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 150 93 20 37 82.3 17.7 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Trust 198 102 53 43 65.8 34.2 
			 RKE Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 84 59 25 0 70.2 29.8 
			 RNH Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 119 71 20 28 78.0 22.0 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust 150 93 27 30 77.5 22.5 
			 RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 151 62 59 30 51.2 48.8 
			 RQN The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 141 97 44 0 68.8 31.2 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust 159 88 30 41 74.6 25.4 
			 RRG Tower Hamlets Healthcare NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RRH Newham Community NHS Trust (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— (54)— 
			 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 85 60 25 0 70.6 29.4 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 137 76 39 22 66.1 33.9 
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 247 89 79 79 53.0 47.0 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 231 83 96 52 46.4 53.6 
		
	
	(54) Not applicable.
	Note:
	Percentages are based on numbers of staff whose nature of contract is known.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Osteoporosis

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the status is of (a) raloxifene and (b) teriparatide in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's review of pharmacological treatments for osteoporosis.

Rosie Winterton: Raloxifiene and teriparatide are included in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's (NICE) appraisal of the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of technologies for the secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.
	The recommendations in the draft guidance are preliminary and may change after consultation. Guidance is due to be published in October 2004 and full details of the appraisal can be found on the NICE website www.nice.org.uk.

Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend, the Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), the then Secretary of State for Health, met Sharon Grant in October 2002. Since then, there have been regular meetings between Sharon Grant and the Ministers responsible for patient and public involvement, but no meetings with the Secretary of State. The most recent meeting with a Minister of the Department was on 17 June 2004. I also met Sharon Grant at the opening of a patients' forum support centre in Leicester on 15 June.

Renal Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the second part of the National Service Framework on renal services will be published; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how the development of the second part of the National Service Framework on renal services will be co-ordinated with the development within his Department of policy on chronic disease management.

Rosie Winterton: Part two of the national service framework (NSF) for renal services is being developed and will be published in due course.
	The work programme for improving chronic disease management is complementary to NSFs and focuses on developing support to help maintain the health of people with a complex mix of health and social care problems, and supporting self-care so that people are better able to look after themselves. This approach recognises the complex interaction of multiple conditions and aims to manage the holistic needs of individuals. For example, good glycaemic control in people with diabetes and the treatment of high blood pressure can reduce the risk, or progression, of chronic kidney disease.

Sexual Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions for teenagers for sexually transmitted diseases there were in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996.

Melanie Johnson: The data requested is shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished admission episodes by strategic health authority (SHA) of treatment and for England -- Age on admission—13 to 19 yearsNational health service hospitals England 1996–97 to 2002–03
		
			 SHA of treatment 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 14 6 14 10 15 13 10 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 3 1 5 2 14 5 4 
			 Q03 Essex HA 6 8 9 9 8 4 8 
			 Q04 North West London HA 26 13 5 11 8 8 9 
			 Q05 North Central London HA 6 12 41 25 18 23 10 
			 Q06 North East London HA 3 1 2 11 7 2 6 
			 Q07 South East London HA 8 10 10 5 3 6 12 
			 Q08 South West London HA 5 — 8 5 5 6 6 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear HA 5 3 39 23 22 12 7 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley HA — — — 12 9 5 13 
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 20 8 8 20 15 16 11 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire HA 17 12 7 33 18 14 13 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 6 4 3 — 2 5 16 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester HA 13 16 19 13 17 23 27 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside HA 12 9 11 7 15 12 16 
			 Q16 Thames Valley HA 6 3 5 5 10 6 10 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight HA 3 5 4 8 7 7 5 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway HA 2 2 1 10 4 5 2 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex HA 4 3 5 9 7 5 7 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 2 — 1 8 12 4 11 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula HA 27 23 18 17 3 3 3 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset HA 8 1 6 8 4 3 8 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire HA 2 1 1 6 7 19 11 
			 Q24 Trent HA 22 25 21 19 31 20 17 
			 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 5 5 2 12 3 5 4 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 8 1 2 2 3 2 3 
			 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country HA 6 9 5 11 10 10 13 
			 Q28 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 2 6 3 9 9 7 10 
			  Not known 231 182 132 74 45 18 — 
			  England 474 370 389 387 335 268 272

Stroke Pathways

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to encourage (a) primary care trusts and (b) hospital trusts to work together to establish stroke pathways.

Stephen Ladyman: Our major vehicle for improving standards for stroke services is through the older people's national service framework (NSF), which set specific milestones for improvement by April 2004 of stroke services in primary care trusts, specialist services and general hospitals that care for people suffering from a stroke. Our document, "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", which sets for the national health service a priorities and planning framework for 2003–06, makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority.
	Implementation of the NSF for older people is leading to real improvements in stroke services and making a difference to people's lives. The development of better services and improved standards in stroke care requires the right balance between national standards, provided by the NSF, national clinical guidelines and local control.

Treatment Costs

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of treating (a) those injured in road traffic accidents and (b) head injuries received in cycling accidents is in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The national health service does not identify separately the costs of treating road traffic accident victims or those injured in cycling accidents. Where a road traffic accident patient receives compensation for their injuries, the national health service is able to reclaim the costs of their treatment from whoever pays the compensation. In 2003–04, over £105 million was recovered in this way.

Visually Impaired People

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that visually impaired people receive a high standard of service from the NHS, with particular reference to (a) the format of letters and information in preferred format and (b) staff training.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 24 June 2004
	People with visual impairments have the same right of access to high quality health services as everyone else. The NHS Plan emphasised the Government's commitment to a person-centred health service that challenges discrimination on all grounds.
	In conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission, the Department has launched a joint framework for partnership action on disability to help deliver improvements for disabled people as users and providers of health and social care. Access and communication have been identified as priority areas and the Department is taking a number of steps to address these. These include publication of the leaflet, "You Can Make a Difference—Improving Hospital Services for Disabled People" and developing guidance and support for primary care trusts on improving services for disabled people.
	The Department is also developing a patient information framework to provide the strategic framework for future development and provision in this area. Together with the informed patient project, which will improve the overall quality, range and accessibility of patient information, the framework will support the need for individuals to have access to information at different times and in different formats depending on their circumstances.
	NHSU, the organisation set up by the Department to establish a university for the national health service, is also working closely with the Disability Rights Commission and others to develop a framework and programme of work to address training on disabilities issues in health and social care. As a first step, a prototype learning programme, aimed at providing staff with a broad overview of disability awareness, will be ready for consultation in the autumn.
	There are no plans for centrally funded programmes that deal specifically with awareness of visual impairments.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Constitution

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals were put forward by the United Kingdom during the negotiations on the European Constitution in respect of the reform of Euratom.

Denis MacShane: The UK did not put forward any proposals with respect to the reform of Euratom during the IGC on the Constitutional Treaty.

Chagos Islands

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the British Government's agreement in principle to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius when they are no longer needed for defence purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The assurance that the Chagos islands will be ceded to Mauritius when they are no longer needed for defence purposes was first given to the Mauritius Government in September 1965, at the same time as the Mauritius Government agreed to the detachment of the islands from Mauritius for the purpose of their incorporation into the British Indian ocean territory. The assurance has since been repeated on numerous occasions, both direct to the Mauritius Government, and in the United Nations and other fora, most recently by the United Kingdom representative in the General Assembly of the United Nations on 24 September 2003. I am placing a copy of the statement in the Library of the House.

Colombia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 872W, on Colombia, how his Department assessed the causal link between the Government of Colombia's policies and the decline in internally displaced people in Colombia in 2003 apparent in the Government of Colombia's statistics; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The decline in numbers of new displacements in 2003, rather than in numbers of internally displaced people as a whole (the latter continues to rise year upon year), can be contributed in part to the success of the Government of Colombia's democratic security policy. This policy has resulted in an expansion of the state security presence throughout the country. The armed forces have had marked success in their offensives against illegal armed groups since the change of Government in 2002, which saw a stronger commitment to tackle such groups head on. Research by independent human rights observers in Colombia indicates that the illegal armed groups caused the vast majority of displacements in 2003. The problem, however, persists; more needs to be done until overall numbers of internally displaced people can actually start to drop.

Colombia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 872W, on Colombia, what his Department (a) plans to do and (b) is doing to address the problems of internally displaced people in Colombia.

Bill Rammell: The UK's response to international humanitarian crises is the responsibility of the Department for International Development. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) seeks to help bring an end to the severe problems Colombia is facing, including that of its internally displaced people (IDPs), by engaging with the Colombian Government and international partners to address human rights issues and in working to encourage a peace process. We also actively support with FCO funds a number of grass roots projects and local NGOs assisting IDPs and indigenous communities. We do so in partnership with development agencies such as the UNHCR.

Colombia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Colombia regarding the treatment of international human rights organisations in that country operating within Colombian laws which promote peace and civil society.

Bill Rammell: The UK attaches great importance to international human rights organisations being able to carry out their work in Colombia without undue hindrance on the part of the Colombian authorities. During my visit to Colombia on 21 and 22 June, I was able to raise these issues with Vice-President Santos and other Colombian Ministers, and seek clarification about recent statements by President Uribe on this matter. I reiterated our view that such NGOs have a key role to play in helping to tackle Colombia's problems, and urged the Colombian Government to work constructively with them.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive a response to his letter of 6 February to Mr. Jonathan Powell, transferred to his Department on 20 February, concerning his constituent Mr. Raplty.

Bill Rammell: My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, replied to the hon. Member's letter on 25 June 2004.

EU Constitutional Treaty

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) representatives of EU institutions and (b) counterparts in other EU member states regarding an abbreviated title for the draft Constitutional Treaty for the EU.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not held any discussions with my EU counterparts or with representatives of the institutions on an abbreviated title for the new Constitutional Treaty.

EU Policy (Voting Method)

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's statements of 21 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1091 and 1094, in answer to the hon. Members for Tiverton and Honiton and for Congleton (Ann Winterton), what voting method will be used to determine policy on the co-ordination of EU economic policy.

Denis MacShane: Article 1–11.3 of the draft constitutional treaty provides that member states coordinate their economic policies within arrangements as determined by Part III.

Gibraltar

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guarantees he has obtained from the Spanish Government that cruise ships will not be denied entry to Spanish ports if they call at Gibraltar first.

Denis MacShane: We have received no such guarantees to date. We continue to seek a permanent solution to this issue in contacts with both the Spanish Government and the European Commission. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told the Spanish Foreign Minister, Senor Moratinos, on 20 May that we regarded Spanish interference as unacceptable and illegal. I can report that, since 21 May, there have been no further incidents that have come to the Government's attention. The Foreign Secretary has also written to Senor Moratinos to underline the need to avoid any repetition of these actions.

Gibraltar

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response the Government have received from the EU Commission to its representations about the denial of entry of cruise ships to Spanish ports when they also call at Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 23 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1449–50W. We continue to press for a permanent solution to the problem.

Israel/Palestine

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of Israeli civilians killed since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000; and how many were under the age of 18.

Denis MacShane: We estimate that 944 Israeli civilians have been killed since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000. This estimate is based on a variety of sources, including the UN, NGOs and the media. We do not hold figures for those killed under the age of 18 years.

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the Quartet on sanctions against Israel to encourage compliance with the road map.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed sanctions against Israel with members of the Quartet (UN, EU, US, Russia). The Government believe that, as a friend of Israel and the Palestinians, we can best exert influence and encourage both sides to take the steps needed for progress through close engagement and negotiation. We do not believe that sanctions would bring the parties any nearer to a peaceful resolution.

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Israel regarding the plans they recently announced to build more homes in west bank settlements to house people evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

Denis MacShane: The UK was party to the European Council statement of 17–18 June reaffirming the earlier statement of 17 May setting out the principle that withdrawal from Gaza could represent a significant step towards the implementation of the roadmap provided that a number of conditions are adhered to. One such condition is that withdrawal should not
	"involve a transfer of settlement activity to the west bank".

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning targeted assassinations of Palestinians in Ariel and Nablus.

Denis MacShane: We have repeatedly made clear to the Government of Israel that their policy of targeted assassinations, regardless of where they occur, is illegal, unjustified and counter-productive. Both Israel and the Palestinians must refrain from actions that may further escalate tensions, including any more such killings.

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Israel concerning the construction of the security wall east of Ariel in the occupied territories since the USA and UK agreed to the plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Denis MacShane: Building the barrier on occupied territory is unlawful. We have consistently made our opposition to the route of the barrier clear to the Israeli Government. We will continue to do so.

Israel/Palestine

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions the Government have applied to (a) the state of Israel and (b) Palestine for breaches of international law since September 2000.

Denis MacShane: The Government have not applied any sanctions to the state of Israel or Palestine for breaches of international law since September 2000. The Government believe that, as a friend of Israel and the Palestinians, we can best exert influence and encourage both sides to take the steps needed for progress through close engagement and negotiation. We do not believe that sanctions would bring the parties any nearer to a peaceful resolution.

Israel/Palestine

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid the Government have given (a) directly and (b) through non-governmental organisations to Palestine in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: The information is as follows.
	
		UK West Bank and Gaza Strip bilateral expenditure: 1996–2004
		
			 Financial year Total expenditure (£ million) Percentage support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) 1 Percentage support to civil society(56) 
		
		
			 1996–97 5.0 (57)— (57)— 
			 1997–98 6.0 (57)— (57)— 
			 1998–99 5.2 27 73 
			 1999–2000 8.0 34 66 
			 2000–01 9.0 36 64 
			 2001–02 14.5 26 74 
			 2002–03 15.2 51 49 
			 2003–04(58) 16.2 58 42 
		
	
	(55) The vast majority of these funds have been provided through independent project managers. Recent financial management reforms in the PA have meant we now provide some funding directly to the PA's budget.
	(56) Includes funding to NGOs and through independent project managers.
	(57) Accurate data to calculate the breakdown of expenditure for 1996–97 and 1997–98 is not readily available.
	(58) Figures for 2003–04 are provisional.
	In addition the UK also provides funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for support to Palestinian refugees in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
	
		UK UNRWA expenditure 1996–2004
		
			 Financial year Total expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 1996–97 8.0 
			 1997–98 10.0 
			 1998–99 3.5 
			 1999–2000 13.0 
			 2000–01 19.0 
			 2001–02 25.0 
			 2002–03 19.0 
			 2003–04 23.6

Israel/Palestine

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of Palestinian civilians killed since September 2000; and how many were under 18.

Denis MacShane: We estimate that 3,242 Palestinian civilians have been killed since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000. This estimate is based on a variety of sources, including the UN, NGOs and the media. We do not hold figures for those killed under the age of 18 years.

Leaflets

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2004, Official Report, column 64W, on leaflet production (costs), what the purpose of the leaflets was; and by what means they were distributed.

Denis MacShane: The purpose of the leaflets was to provide information on EU activities relevant to the towns and cities concerned. The leaflets were distributed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office via local MPs, MEPs, the publicity teams of county councils and Government offices, European Public Information Centres, libraries, Citizen's Advice Bureaux, Universities, Chambers of Commerce, and other organisations.

MKO (Iran/Iraq)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the MKO organisation and its aims for Iran; and what estimate he has made of the number of Iranian civilians who have lost their lives following explosions initiated by that organisation.

Bill Rammell: The Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK or MKO) is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000. It professes to be campaigning for democracy in Iran. But its record of violence extends over several decades. We have no independent confirmation of the number of people who have died at its hands. But the MEK itself has admitted to killing several thousand people since the 1979 revolution in Iran.

MKO (Iran/Iraq)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many persons he estimates are resident in the MKO training camp in Iraq; what protection is being given to the camp by the foreign troops in Iraq; and what plans are being made for the location or relocation of the camp residents and the materials in the camp after the transfer of power to the Interim Government in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: About 3,800 people are detained at Camp Ashraf, the base of the Mojahedin-e Khalq in Iraq. They are under the protection of US forces, who have sole responsibility for them and the camp. Plans for the camp and the detainees during the transition period are a matter for the US authorities and the Iraqi Interim Government.

Public Diplomacy Unit

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current staffing level of the Public Diplomacy Unit is.

Denis MacShane: There are currently 28 staff in the Public Diplomacy Policy Department (which is responsible for overseeing public diplomacy work overseas) and seven staff in the EU Communications Team (which carries out a public diplomacy function on European issues in relation to the British public).

Sri Lanka

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make representations to the Sri Lankan authorities about the attack on the house of Pastor Kumarasira of Peniel Evangelical Church in Hali-ela, Badulla, on 29 April;
	(2)  if he will make representations to the Sri Lankan authorities about (a) attacks on churches in Sri Lanka and (b) the closure of churches because of intimidation;
	(3)  if he will make representations to the Sri Lankan authorities concerning the attack on the Christian Fellowship Church in Wadduwa, Kalutara district, on Easter Day.

Mike O'Brien: We are concerned about reports of attacks against Christian groups in Sri Lanka, including the two specific attacks referred to. We condemn all instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. We regret the closure of any place of worship due to intolerance or intimidation. Our high commission in Colombo is monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka closely. High commission staff have regular contact with the main Christian leaders in Sri Lanka, who are trying to resolve the issues behind the attacks through meetings with Buddhist and other religious leaders. The Christian leaders have advised against formal representations to the Sri Lankan authorities while these efforts continue. But we have urged the authorities to ensure that those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice and that the rights of all religious minorities in Sri Lanka are respected.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United Nations about Sudan's membership of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Chris Mullin: None. Each regional group represented in the Commission on Human Rights has a certain number of seats allocated to it. Unless the group itself puts forward more candidates than seats, their nominations are passed without a vote. Sudan's membership of the UN Commission on Human Rights thus follows agreement by the African Group to put them forward as part of their pre-agreed regional nomination. Neither the UK nor any other country has any locus to influence the decisions of another regional group. That said, the Government believe membership of the Commission on Human Rights brings with it responsibilities and members should meet certain minimum standards of behaviour regarding the implementation of human rights in their own countries. We are working with others to identify ways to improve the quality of membership.

Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  when the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement was signed; when it was originally set to expire; when it was renewed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the key points of the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the obligations put on the Government of Sudan by the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement; what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of these obligations; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The 8 April Ceasefire Agreement provided for a 45-day ceasefire. At the end of this 45-day period it was automatically renewed for a further 45 days. The agreement requires the parties to provide humanitarian access to civilian populations, and to ensure that all armed groups under their control comply with the agreement. It also provides for a Cease-fire Commission, and recognises the need for
	"a mechanism for a political solution".
	Humanitarian access is improving, and the AU Ceasefire Commission is deploying. On 18 June President Bashir made a public announcement of his intention to disarm all outlaws, Janjaweed and armed militias in Darfur. We are urging the Sudanese Government to act quickly to translate this statement into action. We are also pressing the parties to work together to find a political solution to the underlying causes of the conflict. None of the parties has yet fully complied with the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) US, (b) European and (c) African counterparts with regard to submitting a resolution on Darfur to the UN Security Council; what progress he has made on this; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Our priority is to improve the situation on the ground. So our efforts are focused on stopping the fighting, ensuring civilian protection and responding to the humanitarian crisis. Deployment of the African Union-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism has now begun. We have already contributed £2 million to the AU mission, and we are supporting the deployment of UN Human Rights monitors. We are also working with the Government of Sudan on humanitarian access, and have allocated £34.5 million for humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis.
	Darfur has been discussed in the Security Council on a number of occasions and we are in close contact with the US, other European and African members of the Council. On 25 May the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement expressing grave concern at the situation in Darfur. The 11 June Security Council Resolution on Sudan, which focused on the comprehensive peace agreement and plans for a UN Peace Support Operation, called on the parties in Darfur to halt the fighting and conclude a political agreement without delay. We will continue to consider with all partners what further pressure can be brought to bear.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what the mandate is of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees monitors in Darfur; and how they will spread across Darfur's states;
	(2)  what proposals there are to link United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees monitors with the African Union missions to Darfur.

Denis MacShane: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) plans to deploy eight human rights monitors as part of a"90-day action plan for the promotion and protection of human rights in Darfur". A copy of this plan has been placed in the Library of the House. Eight officers will be deployed: one in Khartoum, two in Nyala; two in El Fashir, and three in El Genena. We are providing financial support to the OHCHR for this purpose. We would expect the OHCHR monitors to cooperate with the African Union-led ceasefire monitoring mission.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role he proposes for the UN in peace talks in Darfur.

Denis MacShane: The UN Secretary General and his Special Representative for Sudan plan to visit Darfur later this month. We continue to urge all the parties to the conflict in Darfur to engage in political talks as soon as possible.

Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the UN special rapporteur on executions' statement of 13 June regarding the extrajudicial and summary executions of civilians in Darfur by members of the Sudanese armed forces, the Popular Defence Forces and members of the Janjaweed; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We are very concerned by reports of extra-judicial executions. Our embassy in Khartoum has raised the matter with the Government of Sudan and is waiting for a response.
	Our priority is to stop the fighting, so we are urging the parties to comply fully with the 8 April ceasefire agreement. Deployment of the African Union-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism has now begun. We have already contributed £2 million to the AU mission, and we are supporting the deployment of UN Human Rights monitors. We welcome President Bashir's announcement of 18 June of his intention to disarm all outlaws, Janjaweed and armed militias in Darfur. We have consistently urged the Sudanese Government to act quickly to rein in the Janjaweed and have encouraged them to translate their recent statement into action.

Turkey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey since 1 June; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We are aware of the statement from the Kurdistan Workers Party (also known as PKK/Kongra-Gel) ending their "ceasefire" with effect from 1 June 2004. In recent months there appears to have been an increase in the number of clashes between security forces and militants in the south east of Turkey. We monitor the situation in the south east closely and our embassy in Ankara is in regular contact with Turkish officials, politicians and NGOs on this issue.

Turkey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Government of Turkey concerning their planned reaction to the incidents in Hakkari and Hatay province on 15 June; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We have not discussed the specific incidents which took place in Hatay and Hakkari on 15 June with the Turkish Government. However, we monitor the situation in the south east of Turkey closely and our embassy in Ankara is in regular contact with Turkish officials, politicians and NGOs about the situation there.

Uganda

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Uganda concerning the protection of civilians from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the resettlement of LRA soldiers.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Mullin) gave him on 3 March 2004, Official Report, column 982W. Since then, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development raised our concerns about the conflict in the north, including the need for confidence-building measures and the rehabilitation of former LRA combatants, with President Museveni when he visited Uganda on 5–6 April. Our High Commission remains in constant touch with the President about this issue.

Uganda

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to facilitate fraternal visits from Uganda to churches in England.

Chris Mullin: Although we recognise and appreciate the value of contacts between the respective churches in the UK and Uganda, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not directly involved in these relationships.

US Navy Visit (St. Helena)

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what permission was (a) sought and (b) granted for US Navy personnel to visit St. Helena in December 2003.

Bill Rammell: A request for clearance for US Navy Personnel to visit St. Helena in December 2003 was made to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 3 October 2003. A formal diplomatic clearance request was submitted the same day and clearance was granted on 28 November 2003.

Visas

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa refusals he has overturned in the last 12 months.

Denis MacShane: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Mullin) who holds responsibility for entry clearance has overturned 16 visa refusals in the last 12 months.

Visas

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas were granted in (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria in each month in 2003.

Denis MacShane: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Visas issued in: 
			 2003 Romania Bulgaria 
		
		
			 January 1,225 1,008 
			 February 1,404 1,212 
			 March 1,949 1,479 
			 April 1,898 1,944 
			 May 2,478 2,254 
			 June 2,905 1,748 
			 July 3,700 2,323 
			 August 2,423 1,797 
			 September 2,565 1,584 
			 October 2,346 2,302 
			 November 2,728 1,606 
			 December 1,841 1,663 
		
	
	The table gives the numbers of visas issued in Romania, at our Embassy in Bucharest and in Bulgaria, at our embassy in Sofia, during each month of 2003.

Visas

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the refusal of visitors' visas to the group from Uganda who were due to visit the Deanery of Chippenham on 16 June led by the Reverend Shem Nelson Nsubuga.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 24 June 2004
	I regret that I cannot provide this information as it is not our practice to disclose details of individual entry clearance cases in a public forum. I am therefore withholding the information requested under exemption 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. However, I will write to the hon. Member with regard to this matter.

West Papua

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's position in relation to the Indonesian occupation of West Papua.

Mike O'Brien: The Province of Papua is an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia but has devolved powers under the 2001 Special Autonomy Law. We have consistently said to the Government of Indonesia that we believe that special autonomy should be implemented as soon as possible.

Zimbabwe

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the steps his Department has taken in the past year to facilitate the return of Zimbabwe to the Councils of the Commonwealth.

Denis MacShane: We have taken no such steps. Zimbabwe withdrew voluntarily from the Commonwealth in December 2003. If Zimbabwe should wish to re-apply, it will need to demonstrate to all Commonwealth members its commitment to Commonwealth principles, including respect for the rule of law, human rights and good governance.

Zimbabwe

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy with regard to Zimbabwe's membership of the (a) International Monetary Fund, (b) World Bank and (c) African Development Bank.

Chris Mullin: The Fund and the banks have clear procedures and recommendations for dealing with countries who persistently fail to service debt effectively. The UK provides support and ensures the IMF implements its recommended policies for addressing these issues. So far, with Zimbabwe, the Fund and the banks have followed their due process and implemented penalties accordingly which we have supported. The IMF Executive Board will consider Zimbabwe's position later in the year.

DEFENCE

Al-Yamamah Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether irregularities have been discovered among the claims for payment to his Department by BAE Systems under the Al-Yamamah project since 1999; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what arrangements have been put in place in his Department to verify the authenticity of claims submitted by BAE Systems under the Al-Yamamah programme; and how that process is audited;
	(3)  how many claims for payment submitted to his Department by BAE Systems, related to the Al-Yamamah project, have been rejected in each year since 1999; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Al-Yamamah contracts provide for a set of accounting processes, jointly agreed between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabian Governments, which cover the endorsement and presentation for payment of claims submitted by BAE Systems. Claims are endorsed by the UK Government for payment only where they comply with the terms and prices contained in the associated contract and are supported by documentation confirming contractual performance, e.g. Certificates of Acceptance or Milestone Achievement. Where these criteria are not met, claims are held back or withdrawn until the appropriate paperwork is available or re-submitted. While records are not kept of these occurrences, these arrangements mean that very few claims are finally rejected. There is no evidence that staff of the Saudi Armed Forces Project Office have knowingly received or endorsed claims that contain improper payments of the type alleged in recent press articles.

BAE Systems

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) the Permanent Secretary in his Department has held with members of the United States Administration since 1 January 1999 regarding BAE Systems' commitment to sign up to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Geoff Hoon: In 2002, the Permanent Under-Secretary referred, in correspondence with the United States Administration, to the briefing that BAE Systems had provided to the US Department of Defense on the steps the Company had taken to ensure compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I am aware of no other relevant discussions.

Ballykinler Barracks

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident at Ballykinler Barracks on 16 May.

Adam Ingram: The incident at Ballykinler on 16 May is the subject of an investigation by the Royal Military Police. Until this investigation is complete it would be inappropriate for me to comment on this matter.

Cadet Force (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the strength of the cadet force based at Chorley under the responsibility of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy; and what the budget of each is in 2003–04.

Ivor Caplin: The information is as follows:
	Army
	Manpower Strength
	Chorley Army Cadet Force has a present strength of 53 cadets and five staff. There are no Combined Cadet Force (ACF) sections in the Chorley area.
	Budget
	The consolidated and travel budget for Chorley ACF for Financial Year 2003–04 is £2,404.00
	The payment for Financial Year 2003–04 for training days for adult staff was £7,019.00.
	Chorley ACF is a unit member of the Lancashire ACF. This county force is administered by the North West RFCA (Reserve Forces and Cadet Association.). The associations have offices within the Regional Brigade headquarters based at Preston.
	Royal Air Force
	Manpower Strength
	Chorley is the home of 92 (Chorley) ATC Squadron. It has 54 cadets (40 male, 14 female) and nine staff.
	There are no CCF (RAF) units in the constituency.
	Budget
	ATC Squadrons are not allocated a budget from public funds. Claims for authorised pay days (for volunteer uniformed staff) and travel and subsistence allowance can be claimed from the disaggregated budget held by the Regional HQ or Wing HQ. The budget for building maintenance is held and controlled by HQ air cadets on an as required/priority basis.
	Royal Navy
	Manpower Strength
	Chorley SCC (Sea Cadet Centre) currently has 33 cadets in the unit.
	There are no CCF (RN) or RN Recognised Sea Scout units in the Chorley area.
	Budget
	The Chorley SCC unit does not have a direct budget provided by the RN.
	Each SCC unit is an independent charitable organisation, under the management of a Unit Management Committee. Units are responsible for their own running costs, i.e. buildings and insurance, heat/light, etc. Unit funding is raised by the cadets in local initiatives, such as flag days etc. MOD does provide assistance by way of uniforms, stores, and (adult cadet) training. This is provided under an MOU between MOD and the SCA (Sea Cadet Association).

Chemical and Biological Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2004, to question 178707, whether he permits US forces based in the UK to hold chemical and biological material pursuant to their programmes to protect against chemical and biological weapons.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 24 June 2004
	I assume the hon. Member is referring to my answer of 18 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1140–41W. The basing of chemical and biological counter-weapon material on United Kingdom territory by the United States is a matter for joint decision by the two Governments in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time. There are no United States chemical or biological weapons held in the United Kingdom

Deaths and Injuries in Service

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel have been (a) killed in action, (b) injured in action, (c) killed in vehicle accidents, (d) injured in vehicle accidents, (e) killed in sporting accidents and (f) murdered in each of the past five years; and how many committed suicide in each of those years.

Ivor Caplin: In the period 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2003, there were 419 deaths among United Kingdom service personnel in the categories listed. Of these, 40 were killed in action, 275 died in vehicle accidents, seven died in sporting accidents, 12 died as a result of assaults and 85 were suicide or open verdict deaths recorded by a coroner (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland). In this period, there were a further 30 deaths for which we are waiting a verdict.
	The findings of criminal trials is not routinely collected by the Ministry of Defence, so it is not possible to state how many of the 12 deaths by assault may have been due to murder.
	A breakdown of these deaths by year is provided as follows:
	
		Table A: Deaths in service personnel: 1999 to 2003
		
			 Causes or circumstances of death 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total 
		
		
			 Killed in Action(59) 0 1 0 0 39 40 
			 Vehicles accidents (excluding killed in action) 47 53 56 66 53 275 
			 Sporting accidents 0 2 2 3 0 7 
			 Assault 1 3 1 0 4 12 
			 Suicide/Open verdicts 19 27 11 15 13 85 
		
	
	(59) Includes one road traffic accident death in 2003 classified as killed in action.
	During the period 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2003, 4,876 service personnel have been injured while on duty involving military vehicles. A breakdown of these injuries by year is provided in table B. Information on service personnel injured while off duty involving vehicles is not collected by the MOD. Information on injuries sustained in action is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Table B: On duty injuries in service personnel resulting from military vehicle accidents: 1999 to 2003
		
			  Vehicle accidents 
		
		
			 1999 1,248 
			 2000 964 
			 2001 922 
			 2002 904 
			 2003 838 
			 Total 4,876

Defence Contracts

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list defence contracts (a) awaiting decision and (b) signed off in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: Information on individual defence contracts awaiting decision is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost (Exemption 9 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information).
	During the financial year 2003–04 the Ministry of Defence awarded just over 24,500 contracts valued at £9.3 billion. The details of these contracts cannot be listed without incurring disproportionate cost (Exemption 9 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information).

Departmental IT Infrastructure

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what savings he expects to make following the privatisation of the Ministry's IT infrastructure;
	(2)  when he expects to make a decision on the awarding of the contract following the privatisation of the Ministry's IT infrastructure;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the impact that privatisation of the Ministry's IT infrastructure will have on his Ministry's personnel;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on the privatisation of his Ministry's IT infrastructure.

Adam Ingram: A key component of the Defence Change Programme is the provision of a Defence Information Infrastructure (DII).
	A competition is currently under way to appoint a Delivery Partner under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract who will be responsible for the supply of the required infrastructure and services across Defence. It is intended that the programme will, in time, subsume and then replace the existing disparate IT infrastructures. It is anticipated that this contract will be in place by early 2005 with the entire programme completed by early 2009.
	The DII programme is not a privatisation of IT infrastructure. Under the terms of the Public Private Partnership arrangement, the Ministry of Defence will continue to own the infrastructure but the delivery of the sendee will be the responsibility of the Delivery Partner. Currently, much of the design, provision and management of our existing infrastructure is already outsourced, albeit under a number of different arrangements.
	The DII programme is crucial to the delivery of the Defence Change Programme and has the potential to support delivery of significant benefits across Defence. The DII programme will enable Defence to realise a greatly increased capability at reduced cost. It will provide pan-defence corporate processes that improve the way Defence conducts its business on a day-to-day basis. In addition, it will enable our battlefield systems to be more closely integrated with our support systems, leading to improved decision making and intelligence collection and analysis.
	The savings generated from the more efficient provision of computing facilities are being used to increase the capability of the infrastructure. This includes better resilience and provision for business continuity, the near doubling of the number of users supported by the infrastructure, the provision of a single point of contact for all services offered by the Defence Communications Services Agency (DCSA), unified records management, and much improved e-mail and collaborative working services.
	The provision of new tools and new ways of working means that users of the system will have more powerful capability at their fingertips to enable them to be increasingly effective in delivering their objectives. DII will therefore have a significant impact on the way all users are able to exploit the power of the infrastructure in delivering their outputs, both in the fixed and in the deployed environment.
	Those civilians employed in support roles for the current infrastructure will be transferred to the Delivery Partner (DP) under TUPE arrangements once the DP takes control of the management of the system that they support. It is expected that there will be some exceptions to this in order to provide support for systems that have operational or specialist constraints and require the retention of in house support staff. There will also be those who need to be retained to form the core of the Intelligent Customer Function (ICF). The MOD will be retaining Military Service Providers (MSPs) to support the infrastructure when it is deployed for military operations.

Fire Study 2000

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to begin the implementation of Fire Study 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The future organisation of the Defence Fire Services is dependent upon the result of the Airfield Support Services Project (ASSP) which is examining the most cost effective way of delivering airfield support and wider fire services without compromising operational capability or safety. In the meantime, but without prejudice to the final outcome of ASSP, we are considering whether there is benefit in proceeding with the implementation of Fire Study 2000 separately. However, at present no decision on this matter has been made.

Fisheries

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fisheries protection vessels are in operation; and where they operate.

Adam Ingram: The RN Fishery Protection Squadron currently has three River Class patrol vessels and three Hunt Class MCMVs allocated to Fishery Protection duty, although the number of ships actually on patrol at any given time will depend on the level of fishing activity. Other RN ships can also be called upon to carry out Fishery Protection duties if so required.
	The RN Fishery Protection Squadron patrols the areas within the British Fishery Limits around the English, Welsh, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Island coasts. The RN also inspects British fishing vessels in international waters. The Scottish Fishery Protection Agency is responsible for patrolling the waters off the Scottish coast.

Gaul

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigation has been made into the claim by former Chief Petty Officer Derek Barron regarding the sinking of the fishing vessel The Gaul in the Barents Sea in 1974.

Adam Ingram: Investigation of Mr. Barron's claim is a matter for the Formal Inquiry into the sinking of the Gaul, which is being conducted by the Wreck Commissioner. The Ministry of Defence is committed to giving every assistance to the Inquiry on this and on all other matters.

Gibraltar Regiment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Gibraltar Regiment.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 5 May 2004, Official Report, column 1528W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Rosindell).

Defence Expenditure

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Government's expenditure plans 2004–05 to 2005–06 will be published.

Adam Ingram: We expect to publish the Government's Expenditure Plans for the Ministry of Defence 2004–05 to 2005–06 before the summer recess.

Gulf War Syndrome

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to assist the Royal British Legion with the independent inquiry into Gulf War Syndrome.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 June 2004, Official Report, column 1297W, to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler).

Interrogation Techniques

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he was first informed that UK forces in Iraq were practising the banned interrogation technique of hooding prisoners; if he will list the regiments in which the practice was identified; and on what date and on whose authority an order was issued to cease the practice.

Adam Ingram: We are not aware of any incidents in which United Kingdom interrogators are alleged to have used hooding as an interrogation technique.

Interrogation Techniques

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account he took of (a) the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Ireland v. United Kingdom to outlaw the use of the five techniques of interrogation found to be in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention and (b) the response of the then Government to that judgment in setting the parameters for conduct by British forces in Iraq in respect of individuals held.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 June 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1693W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara). This remains the Government position. It is made clear to all armed forces personnel undergoing training in interrogation that the five techniques, hooding, wall standing, sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and white noise, are in all circumstances unacceptable as methods of interrogation.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Coalition military operations have damaged the remains of ancient Babylon; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraq Ministry of Culture are currently investigating claims that Coalition Military may have caused damage to sites of archaeological and cultural interest at Babylon. Babylon is outside the United Kingdom's area of Operation in Iraq, and no members of the UK armed forces are based there.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the number of (a) civilians, (b) coalition forces and (c) terrorists killed in Iraq since the end of the war; and what the evidential basis is for his estimate.

Adam Ingram: Since the end of major combat operations on 1 May 2003, United Kingdom forces have suffered 25 fatalities. Those suffered by other members of the International Coalition are a matter for them to comment on.
	Since 1 May, UK Units have reported all confirmed fatalities of which they are aware arising from incidents in which they were involved and we have put in place a mechanism for central collation of unit reports. However it is not always possible to confirm whether fatalities or injuries have occurred during a particular incident. For example, in some incidents we believe Iraqi dead and/or injured may have been taken away by their compatriots before UK Forces could investigate. In other incidents UK Forces have been forced to withdraw before any Iraqi fatalities and/or injuries could be confirmed. Consequently we have no viable means of assessing the completeness of the information.
	The same difficulty arises in estimating the number of terrorists killed.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 235W, on Iraq, if he will name the Iraqi gunman killed in self-defence.

Adam Ingram: The gunman has been identified as Hilal Finjan Salman.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the senior officer of the First Regiment Royal Highland Fusiliers responsible for the running of the United Kingdom detention facility in Shaibah, Iraq is; how often he makes reports of conditions within this facility; what items such reports cover; whether the Secretary of State automatically receives a copy of reports made on this facility; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Officer Commanding of the UK's Divisional Temporary Detention facility produces a daily situation report which is sent to the Multinational Division (Southeast) and to the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters. The report covers significant events, and miscellaneous issues. The Secretary of State does not automatically receive a copy, but is made aware of all matters of importance.
	I am withholding the officer's name under Exemption 12 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the medical records of those Iraqis held in detention by British forces in Southern Iraq have been provided to those interrogating them.

Adam Ingram: Individuals detained by British forces in Iraq undergo a full medical examination to ensure detention does not pose a risk to their health. A further medical examination is conducted on those individuals identified for interrogation in order to assess whether such activity constitutes a risk to their health. The records of such medicals are available to those personnel involved in interrogating the individual.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the line of command is that reports directly to him from persons who have direct responsibility for the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The line of command from the United Kingdom detention facility in Iraq is as follows:
	Secretary of State for Defence
	Chief of Defence Staff
	Chief of Joint Operations, Permanent Joint Headquarters
	General Officer Commanding, Multi-National Division (South East)
	Officer Commanding, UK Detention Facility

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women working in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq are employed by private contractors; to whom they are responsible; what their terms of employment are; what training they are given before becoming a police officer; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no employees of private contractors working in the British detention facility in Iraq.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been during the last 12 months to the Government of the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence operates a single military detention facility, which opened in December 2003. The cost of the facility, up to 31 May 2004, has been approximately £684,000.
	There are no civilian prisons operated by the MOD in Iraq.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that conditions of detention in Iraq fully comply with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Adam Ingram: A mechanism to monitor conditions at the UK Divisional Temporary Detention Facility in Iraq is in place. The International Committee of the Red Cross, who are the internationally recognised monitors of implementation of the Geneva Conventions, make regular visits to the Facility. Discussions routinely take place between local ICRC representatives and British military staff to resolve any issues relating to the conditions in which internees are held. The ICRC produce confidential working papers which are passed to the UK General Officer Commanding in Iraq, and are staffed through the Chain of Command to the Permanent Joint Headquarters and to the MOD if appropriate. Ministers are routinely kept abreast of the results of the ICRC's continuing scrutiny of British-run detention facilities in Iraq, and any substantive issues raised by the ICRC are promptly brought to their attention.

Iraq

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the number of off duty members of the Iraqi Security forces among the killed and wounded of the Iraqi insurgents.

Adam Ingram: Since 1 June 2003 we believe the Iraqi Security forces have suffered about 300 fatalities. We do not hold information on whether the fatalities occurred when they were on, or off-duty.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of private contractors in the (a) administration, (b) interrogation and (c) handling of prisoners under UK jurisdiction in Iraq; which contractors are involved; and which laws are applicable to their activities.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether civilian (a) contractors and (b) interrogators are employed in Iraqi jails under the control of British forces.

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the minimum requirements demanded by his Department are of the individual contractors employed to be involved in the detention of the prisoners of UK forces in Iraq; and at what level in his Department the decision was taken to employ each in these roles;
	(2)  what factors underlay the decision to employ private contractors to assist with the detention of prisoners of UK forces in Iraq in preference to (a) his Department's staff and (b) seconded prison officers from the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many private contractors are involved in dealing with prisoners of UK forces in Iraq; from which companies they are employed; at which locations they are used; who is responsible for there behaviour; what their responsibilities are; what the cost of their employment was in April; and for how long he intends to employ them.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 May 2004
	There are no private contractors employed in the direct administration, interrogation or handling of prisoners under the United Kingdom jurisdiction in Iraq.
	Iraqi criminal justice system prisons are under the control of the Coalition Provisional Authority through the Ministry of Justice. The administration and handling of prisoners in Ministry of Justice run prisons is carried out by Iraqi Correctional Service employees. The Ministry of Justice employs local contractors in the following capacities.
	Septic tank emptying
	Catering
	Food provision
	Water supply
	Building works
	Guarding prison sites
	No interrogation takes place in Ministry of Justice prisons.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the employment of civilian (a) contractors and (b) interrogators in Iraqi jails is part of the Coalition Provisional Authority's military strategy.

Adam Ingram: Internment facilities operated by members of the international coalition for the security of their forces are not within the auspices of the Coalition Provisional Authority.
	We are not in a position to comment on prisons and other criminal detention facilities operated within the Iraqi judicial system.
	The UK Divisional Temporary Detention Facility does not employ civilians as contractors or interrogators in the direct administration, interrogation or handling of prisoners.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum length of time is that Iraqi (a) civilians, (b) former military persons and (c) others can be detained without charge; what procedures govern the release of these individuals without charge; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Article 78 of the IV Geneva Convention (1949) allows the UK as the Occupying Power in Iraq to intern people where it considers it necessary for imperative reasons of security.
	Internees' cases are all reviewed regularly, however, they may be held until such time as they are no longer considered a threat to Coalition Forces.

Iraq

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions the Department issued in the last year concerning (a) the handling of Iraqi prisoners and (b) methods for extracting information from Iraqis.

Geoff Hoon: Guidance on prisoner handling is contained in Joint Warfare Publication 1–10 (Prisoner of War Handling). It emphasises that prisoners are at all times to be treated in accordance with the relevant Geneva protocols.
	JWP 1–10 also provides basic guidance on interrogation. However, primary guidance on acceptable interrogation techniques is given in-a stringent course which all UK interrogators must successfully complete prior to undertaking any operational interrogations. The course also emphasises that individuals being questioned must be treated at all times in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

Iraq

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many hours of training on average British troops have received in Iraqi culture and customs prior to deployment in Iraq;
	(2)  whether there is a minimum level of training in Iraqi culture and customs for British troops prior to deployment in Iraq;
	(3)  what experts have been consulted in (a) formulating training programmes, (b) writing training material and (c) on the ground guidance for British troops on Iraqi culture and customs; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what topics and issues are covered in training given to British troops on Iraqi culture and customs prior to deployment in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Operational Training and Advisory Group sponsored pre-deployment training, given to each soldier deploying to Iraq, delivers a minimum level of cultural awareness briefings and practical training, delivered by experts from organisations such as The Babylon School of Arabic or the School of African and Oriental Studies.
	This covers Iraqi culture and customs, basic language instruction and training to operate using interpreters. The briefings are delivered by instructors with a first hand knowledge of the area British troops will operate in. These briefings provide an overview, from an Iraqi perspective, of Iraqi history, religious issues and customs, family customs and everyday cultural awareness issues. The length of these briefings can vary, but average about one and a half hours.
	Individual commanders then build on this foundation as part of their pre-deployment training. Army brigades routinely conduct cultural awareness study periods at the outset of their pre-deployment training. Cultural advisers subsequently support brigade pre-deployment packages providing cultural awareness training and advice, ranging from seminars in small groups through to full participation in field training.
	The Royal United Services Institute, The School of Oriental and African Studies, The Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, The Babylon School of Arabic, and The German Institute for Middle East Studies, Hamburg, among others, have been consulted in the provision of cultural training for British troops.

Iraq

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria he will use to decide whether more troops are to be deployed to Iraq after 30 June.

Adam Ingram: United Kingdom Commanders in the Multi National Division South East regularly review the force level and mix to ensure that they have the necessary capability for likely tasks. We are also considering, with the other members of the Multi National Force, the levels and dispositions of Forces across Iraq that will be appropriate for the forthcoming Transitional period.

Kosovo

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether (a) UN and (b) NATO military personnel have been involved in Kosovo in illegal activities relating to sex trafficking; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Government condemn the exploitation of vulnerable people, and expect United Kingdom military personnel to adhere to the rules for conduct on operations. Military personnel breaking these rules are dealt with under the relevant disciplinary procedures and, depending on the offence, UK criminal law. No UK personnel in Kosovo have been court marshalled for offences relating to sex trafficking, and no investigations are outstanding, though one individual was returned to the UK from Kosovo in 1999, and subsequently court marshalled, after visiting a brothel. We cannot comment on personnel from other states.

Nuclear Material (Transfer)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last transfer of nuclear material between the United States and the UK under the Mutual Defence Agreement took place; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement makes provision for the transfer of special nuclear materials. Such transfers are in connection with nuclear warhead assurance and stockpile stewardship matters. I am withholding precise details of such transfers under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Parliamentary Questions

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Stafford on 21 April, ref. 168467.

Ivor Caplin: I replied to my hon. Friend today.

Portable Electrical Equipment

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often since 1997 (a) his Department and (b) its associated public sector organisations have undergone portable appliance testing of IT equipment; and what the cost was of portable appliance testing in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: Appliance Testing of IT equipment is a site responsibility. Information is not held centrally on the timings and the costs incurred for the testing of IT equipment could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

R21 Technologies (Ashford)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the instruction in R2I technologies at Ashford, Kent.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 May 2004
	Resistance to Interrogation (R2I) training is now conducted in the UK by the Joint Services Intelligence Organisation (JSIO).
	In order to give those military forces who are designated 'prone to capture' an indication of the stresses and pressures that they may face if they are captured by an enemy, JSIO are authorised to conduct R2I training. During the course of such training, certain activities proscribed by the Geneva Conventions (GC) are employed. This is in order to give the best possible preparation to personnel likely to be deployed on operations where they will be most at risk from interrogation methods falling outside of the GC. Such activities only occur on designated exercises in a controlled and properly supervised environment by professionally trained personnel from JSIO supported by other appropriately trained staff. Those proscribed activities under the GC which 'prone to capture' British forces receive exposure to, include hooding, white noise and stress positions. It should be clearly understood that activities conducted under R2I training which are proscribed in the GC are neither taught nor reflected in UK interrogation training and practices, which are always conducted in accordance with the GC.

Recruitment Shortfalls

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many army regiments are not using Commonwealth troops to fill recruitment shortfalls.

Ivor Caplin: Commonwealth citizens who enlist into the British Army are not recruited only to fill vacancies in specific regiments. They are eligible to serve in the Army providing they meet the relevant qualifying criteria, and are currently given the same choice of Career Employment Group as any other recruit.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the functions of the (a) Mk98 MOD 5 Fire Control System and (b) SLBM Retargeting System;
	(2)  when the Mk 98 MOD 5 Fire Control system for Trident is due to enter service; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the total cost of acquiring the (a) hardware and (b) software for (i) the MK98 MOD 5 Fire Control System and (ii) modifications to the Trident system under the SLBM Retargeting System was; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Mk 98 Fire Control System is an important part of the equipment fitted on board a Vanguard class submarine. It draws together all the information needed to calculate the flight data required by a Trident missile prior to launch. The MK98 MOD 2 Fire Control System was installed on the submarines at build. The MK98 MOD 5 programme was undertaken to update hardware to overcome obsolescence and is now complete. Initial Operating Capability was achieved in September 2002 and all SSBNs had been modified by February 2003. The update programme, for hardware only, cost $39.810 million (including the costs of fitting) and $6.987 million for initial spares. Information on the costs of the related software modifications is not held separately from that relating to other software costs in this area. The UK has no requirement for a SLBM Retargeting System on Trident submarines, and has no plans to acquire that capability.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent per annum since 1993 on modifications to the shore- based target planning system for Trident; and if he will make a statement on the functions of these modifications.

Adam Ingram: The shore-based target planning system for Trident has not changed significantly since 1993. The purpose of the modifications has been to update hardware and operating system software in accordance with good industry practice. In broad terms we spend around £250,000 per year (at current prices) on hardware updates, although this did peak at £584,000 in financial year 2001–02 when a more significant investment was made.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has drawn up for the use of satellites for EHF communications with Trident nuclear submarines; which satellites his Department plans to use for EHF communications with Trident nuclear submarines; and if he will make a statement on his Department's assessment of the importance of EHF communications with Trident nuclear submarines.

Adam Ingram: Maintaining the effectiveness of Trident submarine communications is vital and these are kept under constant review to ensure that they support national deterrent policy.
	Trident submarines use, and will continue to use, as many different systems as is required to assure reliable communications.
	EHF is one of many technical solutions. It will continue to be considered as one choice available for submarine communications capability.

Typhoon

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the date of entry into service of the Typhoon aircraft.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 June 2004, Official Report, column 598W, to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth).

US Bases (UK)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether US aircraft armed with nuclear weapons seek permission from his Department for each flight they wish to make within UK airspace.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 June 2004
	The use of facilities on United Kingdom territory by the United States is a matter for joint decision by the two Governments in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Victor Bout

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has held with Mr. Victor Bout about the role of his companies in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: We are not aware of a connection between UK forces in Iraq and any company that may be owned by Mr. Bout, and consequently no discussions have taken place.

West Midlands

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's land holdings in the West Midlands.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence owns or leases the following sites in the West Midlands—as defined by the area for which the Government Office for the West Midlands is responsible:
	
		
			 Establishment Location County/district 
		
		
			 Birmingham: Army and RN Careers Info Office (CIO) Birmingham Birmingham 
			 Birmingham: Defence Medical Services Birmingham Birmingham 
			 Birmingham: DE Housing (various sites) Birmingham Birmingham 
			 Birmingham: TAVRA Centre (various sites) Birmingham Birmingham 
			 Sultan Coldfield: DEHQ Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 
			 Sutton Coldfield: DE Housing Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 
			 Sutton Coldfield: TAVRA Centre Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 
			 Coventry: Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO) Coventry Coventry 
			 Bromyard: TAVRA Centre Bromyard Herefordshire 
			 Broomy Hill: Army Radio Station Near Hereford Herefordshire 
			 Dinmore Hill: Army Radio Station Near Wellington Herefordshire 
			 Garway Hill: Army Radio Station Garway Herefordshire 
			 Hereford: Army Camp (Credenhill) Hereford Herefordshire 
			 Hereford: AFCO Hereford Herefordshire 
			 Hereford: DE Housing (various sites) Hereford Herefordshire 
			 Pontrilas: Army Training Area Pontrilas Herefordshire 
			 Preston Wynne Weather Station Preston Wynne Herefordshire 
			 Ross-on-Wye: Army Rifle Range Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire 
			 Ross-on-Wye: Weather Station Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire 
			 Shobdon: Weather Station Shobdon Herefordshire 
			 Oldbury: TAVRA Centre Oldbury Sandwell 
			 Abdon Burf: Radio Station Near Ditton Priors Shropshire 
			 Clee Hill: Weather Station Near Ludlow Shropshire 
			 Cosford: DE Housing Near Albrighton Shropshire 
			 Cosford: RAF Near Albrighton Shropshire 
			 Grinshill: RAF Radio Station Grinshill Shropshire 
			 Llansilin: Army Rifle Range Llansilin Shropshire 
			 Nesscliffe: Army Training Area Nesscliffe Shropshire 
			 Prees Green: RAF Radio Station Prees Green Shropshire 
			 Shawbury: DE Housing Shawbury Shropshire 
			 Shawbury: RAF Shawbury Shropshire 
			 Shrewsbury: AFCO Shrewsbury Shropshire 
			 Shrewsbury: Army HQ. Shrewsbury Shropshire 
			 Shrewsbury: Army Museum Shrewsbury Shropshire 
			 Shrewsbury: DE Housing (various sites) Shrewsbury Shropshire 
			 Ternhill: Clive Barracks Ternhill Shropshire 
			 Ternhill: DE Housing Ternhill Shropshire 
			 Ternhill: RAF Ternhill Shropshire 
			 Birmingham: Met Office Birmingham Solihull 
			 Burton-on-Trent: Army CIO Burton-on-Trent Staffordshire 
			 Fauld: RAF Near Tutbury Staffordshire 
			 Leek: Army Camp (Anzio Camp) Leek Staffordshire 
			 Leek: Army Training Area Leek Staffordshire 
			 Leek: Weather Station Leek Staffordshire 
			 Lichfield: DE Housing Lichfield Staffordshire 
			 Lichfield: Whittington Bks/Ranges Lichfield Staffordshire 
			 Pye Green: Army Radio Station Pye Green Staffordshire 
			 Stafford: DE Housing Stafford Staffordshire 
			 Stafford: RAF Stafford Staffordshire 
			 Swynnerton: Army Training Area Swynnerton Staffordshire 
			 Stoke-on-Trent: AFCO Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent 
			 Chetwynd: RAF Airfield Near Newport Telford and Wrekin 
			 Donnington: Army Depot Donnington Telford and Wrekin 
			 Donnington: DE Housing Donnington Telford and Wrekin 
			 Telford: Defence Logistic Organisation Telford Telford and Wrekin 
			 Wrockwardine: Housing Wrockwardine Telford and Wrekin 
			 Wolverhampton: TAVRA Centre Wolverhampton Walsall 
			 Bramcote: DE Housing Bramcote Warwickshire 
			 Bramcote: Gamecock Barracks Bramcote Warwickshire 
			 Church Lawford: Weather Station Church Lawford Warwickshire 
			 Coleshill: Weather Station Coleshill Warwickshire 
			 Ilmington: Army Radio Station Ilmington Warwickshire 
			 Kineton: Defence Munition Centre Kineton Warwickshire 
			 Kineton: DE Housing Kineton Warwickshire 
			 Kingsbury: Army Rifle Range Kingsbury Warwickshire 
			 Rugby: RAF Radio Station Rugby Warwickshire 
			 Warwick: Army Museum Warwick Warwickshire 
			 Long Marston: Army Camp and Depot Long Marston Warwickshire/Worcestershire 
			 Wolverhampton: Army CIO Wolverhampton Wolverhampton 
			 Wolverhampton: TAVRA Centre Wolverhampton Wolverhampton 
			 Droitwich: DE Housing Droitwich Worcestershire 
			 Droitwich: Government Offices Droitwich Worcestershire 
			 Kidderminster: TAVRA Centre Kidderminster Worcestershire 
			 Lower Wick: DE Housing Near Worcester Worcestershire 
			 Malvern: (North and South Site) Malvern Worcestershire 
			 Malvern: DE Housing Malvern Worcestershire 
			 Powick: Monitoring Post Powick Worcestershire 
			 Romsley: Army Radio Station Romsley Worcestershire 
			 Rubery: TAVRA Centre Rubery Worcestershire 
			 Tyddesley Wood: Army Rifle Range Near Pershore Worcestershire 
			 Worcester: Army Museum Worcester Worcestershire 
			 Worcester: Army Regimental HQ Worcester Worcestershire 
			 Worcester: RN and Army CIO Worcester Worcestershire